The Bonds That Can't Be Known
by ddevilmaycry
Summary: On the first day of her journey, Enne Shinkou stumbles on Cell, an intriguing bug-like creature idling in the forest. Together, they travel across the globe searching for the magical dragon balls that can grant only one wish. Set in the Cell saga.
1. Find the Dragon Balls!

**Summary: **On the first day of her journey, sixteen year old Enne Shinkou stumbles on Cell, an intriguing bug-like creature idling in the forest. Together, they travel across the globe searching for the magical dragon balls that can grant only one wish. Set two years after Cell landed on DBZ's default timeline up to the end of the Cell games. Rated T only because of curse words.

**Disclaimer:** For legal purposes, I, in no way, claim any right to Akira Toriyama's ideas, characters, and everything. I only own the Shinkous, period. Also, no profit is being made from this fanfiction. On a final note, please don't claim my writing as yours, thank you.

**Author's Notes:** I've been thinking about writing this since February, 2014. I post this now that I have only three or four last chapters to write. So it's nearly complete.

The first half is fun and adventure. The second is angst-ridden. I hope the story gives you a "healthy" dose of both. Ha ha ha.

Also, he turns into imperfect form in chapter 11, but I _encourage_ you to read through chapter 1 - 10.  
You may interpret their relationship romantically but I myself am not sure of that. *evil laugh*

Things to take note of:

1. I refer to Cell in his cocoon/pupa/shell form as Cell in his pupal stage/form. I refer to his fetus-like, baby form as his larval form. I'm pretty sure "larval" is what they called him when he was in the tank/incubator. If both fetal and pupal stages are called his larval form, then I've made a distinction so we won't be confused.

2. Please ignore the fact that pupal Cell isn't burrowed (for two years since his arrival).

3. Pupal Cell isn't completely helpless, he can even run if necessary.

4. Enne is pronounced as it is, like En, the letter N.

Of course you're free to point out inconsistencies in the course of the story. I'd be glad to consider your opinions.

Having said all that, enjoy. :)

* * *

**The Bonds That Can't Be Known**

_Friendship? Love? Family? These two have something words can't describe._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Find the Dragon Balls!**

* * *

"Enne m'dear, let me tell you about the legend of the seven mystical Dragon Balls," Grandpa Shinkou said as he finished reading a bedtime story to his four-year-old granddaughter. He did not usually follow up bedtime stories with short tales but tonight was different. The four-year-old girl who was snuggled comfortably in her bed waited on him with glowing eyes.

It was a full moon night, quite silent, the sounds of the rushing river and chirping crickets were the only ones to be heard. The cabin was a few miles away from the outskirts of Yahhoy City, nearby Fukurou forest. In this cabin, the Shinkous lived a simple life.

Grandpa Shinkou was very old. For a man in his early seventies he could still chop firewood, gather water from the river, cook meals, and keep a keen eye on his granddaughter. He even taught her some martial arts for self-defense when he had spare time. He always bought her books, fiction and not, whenever he went to the city to buy supplies. Every night he would read her bedtime stories mostly about adventure and fantasy. These acts showed how much he loves his granddaughter, unfortunately, he knew that his time left in this world was short.

"Listen closely. They say that these dragon balls, orange, about the size of an apple with stars in the middle, are scattered all over the Earth. The lucky person who finds them and brings them together is said to be granted one wish. You know, if you grew up and had time to spare, you could find them and wish for whatever you want." Enne looked at him with fascination. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Now go to sleep, sweetheart." She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Yeah, just a little effort and dedication._ Enne thought to herself as she stood on an elevated mound that overlooked Fukurou forest, taking in the view of a clear blue sky. Twelve years have passed since that night and here she was, looking for the dragon balls. With black hair cut at shoulder length, a blue tank top, black jeans, and white sneakers, she was ready to go.

Now she understood why her grandfather held on to such an unbelievable tale. She held the object called a dragon radar. She found it in one of her grandfather's side table drawers when she was putting his stuff in a wooden chest shortly after his timely, peaceful, death. It seems that even her grandfather had forgotten where he found the device let alone his possession of it. _Grandpa loved adventure so much, he must have found it in one of his random journeys. _There was also a strange note that said "The magic word is Shenron" tied to it with a rubber band, this note she put in the front pocket of her backpack. _Shenron? The magic word? Wasn't please the magic word?_

"Alright! Time to find those dragon balls!" she shouted with a fist pump to the air. Clutching the strap of her green backpack, she turned around to face the direction the radar was pointing in. There was a Tyrannosaurus rex eyeing her. Her shoulders dropped. _They're everywhere, aren't they?_ Trying her best to hide the fact that she was about to escape, she suddenly ran to her left.

"Kami I'm too young to die!"

Provoked by the shriek, the T. rex ran after her. She ran to the part of the forest that was thick with trees to throw off the dinosaur's speed. _Damn it!_ Straying from the path to the dragon ball irritated her but she was correct in judgment. The T. rex had to slow down to avoid the thick branches its head might hit. She reached a clearing near a cliff and carefully jumped over elevations so that she could reach the ground below safely. After she landed, she continued running as fast as she could. She didn't care about the direction even when the T. rex stopped by the cliff, unable to pursue its prey.

"Huff, huff." Panting, she put her hands on the nearest tree to support her weight. After regaining her stamina, she scanned the area for an easy way south. The radar she had was able to pinpoint the exact location of the dragon balls. During her survey of the surroundings, she saw something weird at the meadow straight ahead. "What's that?" She saw something yellowish, it looked like a rocket ship but she wasn't sure. The trees were thick but not thick enough to conceal the mysterious structure. "It wouldn't hurt to take a look." And then she walked toward it. _What's a rocket-like ship, building, whatever, doing out here?_

When Enne reached the structure, she examined it. It did look like a rocket ship with its oval shape, four tube-like launchers, and shattered, _more like melted_, glass head. Thick moss had covered a small part of its bottom. All four launchers were labeled with "1 Capsule Corp" and one had the word "HOPE" written on it.

_Hm, who in the world would break out of his own spaceship? Unless he was attacked by a monster, the poor guy. Well, he wouldn't mind if I checked a bit._ Enne hooked on one of the launchers and hoisted herself up to the cockpit. She looked through the glass head and saw something weird inside. She slightly leaned in to take a closer look. _It's a purple, spiky, round thing cut in half. What on Earth? _After some effort to extract the thing and jump off the structure, she laid it down on the ground. She touched the insides and felt that it was kind of wet with an unknown slimy liquid, then she repeatedly tried putting the two halves together, felt the outer shell, the small round spikes, and the orange rim of the cut. "If I'm to put two and two together, something must have come out of this but what was it doing there in the first place? Someone brought it with them? C'mon Enne, think!" After some musing. "Okay, it's either someone brought it with them and they were attacked by a monster leaving this egg thing behind to hatch, or something hatched from this that ate the poor guy and blasted out of the ship!" _Yikes!_

Enne tied a string on each half and hung the shells over her shoulder like messenger bags. "Whatever this is, it's a rare find!" Then she looked at the radar and started walking in the direction of the dragon ball. She jumped over more shallow cliffs until she slipped on a big moss-covered rock that she thought would be a good platform. "Ou, ou…" She looked back at the rock. "Hey."

Enne saw it. It had a weird shape. It had two wide horns protruding a bit sideways from its head and another two that looked like wings, or shells, she couldn't tell. One thing was clear, it had four legs each having three claw-like fingers and toes. This thing that she mistook for a mossy rock was something that looked like an overgrown grasshopper minus the antennae. A chill went up her spine, Enne had a dislike for insects that bordered on a phobia. Nevertheless, her curiosity got the best of her and she examined what seemed to be its face.

"Oh my Kami."

Upon closer inspection, the creature had two snake-like pinkish eyes with slits for pupils and a blunt round beak between them. Enne knew that it wasn't a strangely formed green rock, it was a living creature.

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**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	2. What Are You?

**Author's Notes:** The whole story takes place on Dragon Ball's Earth, if you want a map, you can go visit the Dragon Ball wiki. This is the one I used:

(img3).(wikia).(nocookie).net(/)(_)(_)cb20120424171225(/)dragonball(/)images(/)4(/)47(/)Dragonball_world_map_by_0some_(weirdguy0-d4qonuq).(jpg)

Just delete the parentheses.

For an easy reference, I use the distance from Satan City to the Son family home which is about 500 km, that's about 300 miles.

Also, I wrote Gingertown and not Ginger Town because I'm only following the DB wiki. :D

* * *

**Chapter 2: What Are You?**

Enne fell on her behind, trembling, as she stared at the bug-like creature.

"Wh-wh-what are you?"

No reply.

She was breathing deeply so she couldn't bring herself to stand up yet.

Silence.

She finally stood up and stepped back to a comfortable distance. She stared at the creature for some time, waiting for any sign of movement. _Damn it, bugs are always like this! You stare at them for hours and they don't move and when you do they just fly the heck on your face!_ Gathering up all her courage, she walked over and touched the round bump on the middle of its forehead. "You don't move much do you?" Then the creature took a step back. Enne winced. "Y-you, m-moved, l-listen here bug, I know martial arts!" And she jumped away landing in her fighting stance.

_Unimpressive._

"Here goes!" Enne said as she landed a forceful punch on the round bump.

Awkward silence.

_"Fool," _the creature hissed.

Enne withdrew her fist. "Wait, what?"

No reply.

"You spoke! You said something! I heard you!"

No reply. _How irritating. I must kill her when I evolve._

Enne crouched down, her face level with the creature's. She scrunched her brows and pulled a slight pout. The creature didn't look threatening now that she heard it speak. "I'm not leaving until you speak again."

_How impudent. She knows no tact. "You're a fool."_

"Hey, you understand me, but how rude, I am not a fool. What are you and where did you come from anyway? You don't look like an ordinary bug to me."

_Telling her would do no harm, it might even keep her away. "From that,"_ the creature said as it slid its pupils at the cut egg slumped over Enne's shoulder.

"Wait, so you hatched from this? So you came from that spaceship! Where's your owner? I get it, you must be someone's pet!" From the creature's point-of-view, Enne's smile looked ignorant.

_How stupid. I am not some human's pet. I am Dr. Gero's perfect creation. The perfect android. "I am not a pet. Leave me be."_

"You're a rude one aren't you? You know what, I'm travelling. In fact, I know something you might like!" Enne stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, giving the creature a smug look. _Hah, I'm losing it, talking to a bug and all. But it's never too bad to talk to someone, or something, harmless._ "I can find dragon balls and y'know what dragon balls are? They're magical objects that grant the finder whatever wish they want!" She pulled out the dragon radar and showed it to the creature. "You see that blinking area? A dragon ball's there. And when I find them all, I'm going to make a wish."

_She can't be serious! Something like that could make me achieve my perfect form without any difficulty, maybe even without androids 17 and 18! I must take advantage and extract information! "Any wish?"_

"Yep, anything you can think of."

_How fortunate! I will exploit her until we find these dragon balls then kill her when the time to make the wish comes. That's better than wait here for another two years until my relatively weak imperfect form. _He had already idled in this forest for two years and another two more was too much time wasted.

Enne looked at the creature's eyes, she swore she could see them glowing under that deep pinkish hue.

_"I will help you." _

"Huh?" The creature's offer took her by surprise.

_"We find dragon balls."_

_So I got its attention, cool, now at least I have a travel companion. He's weird but he'll do. Of all things, a bug, at least he isn't slimy. _"Fine then, follow me." Enne started walking south. She couldn't help but keep looking sideward to check on the creature. _This thing's serious!_ She hated all kinds of insects but one that wasn't slimy, can understand, and speak was an exception. The robotic voice that it made even gave her the impression that it was more robot than insect. But it came from an egg so it must be an insect, isn't it? "Hey, I might sound rude but I just want to know, what are you?"

_"I am an android."_

"Android? So you're like a robot created by someone, but you hatched from an egg! So what's up with that?"

_"Correction, I am a bio-android. I am fully organic." It is critical that I manipulate her to serve my purpose. It will benefit me more to get on her good side than otherwise._

"I see, so you're an android but you have organs and stuff. Neat."

Enne and her unlikely companion must have walked about three or four miles of grass fields already. She stopped and sat cross-legged. "Wait, my name's Enne Shinkou, call me Enne. What should I call you?"

_"Cell."_

_That was fast. His maker must have programmed his name or something like that._ "Hey Cell, wait, I just have to check something."

Enne grabbed her backpack and set the map on the grass. Cell stood near the edge of the map, poring over it.

"Just west of this Gingertown, which is about two hundred kilometers from here, is halfway from our destination. Hey look, we could go further southeast and take a break in West City. What d'you say?" She smiled at the creature. Cell blinked. She rolled up the map and put it back in her bag. "Could you carry your eggshells for me? They get in the way of my backpack." Cell blinked again. "Sheesh, I was just joking. It's not like you're bipedal nor have opposable thumbs!" She stood up and led the way.

* * *

A hundred miles covered in a few days, and a hundred more to go. All that walking, even with the short breaks, took its toll on Enne. She sat on the ground with her legs extended in front of her and grasped the grass beneath. "Ah, I'm tired!" Cell kept walking. "I said I'm tired!" Cell turned to face her. _Oh boy_. She could see a faint frown on that beak of his. "You're not tired? Good stamina for a little guy. I'm sorry to tell you but I'm not built like you." Having the cells of some of the strongest fighters on Earth, Cell did have a considerable stamina even at his pupal stage.

_Her pathetic whining is going to slow us down. It seems I have no choice. "Get on my back."_

Enne blinked and raised a brow at him. Cell narrowed his eyes.

"Ride you, like a buggy?" Enne covered her mouth with a hand. _Good job genius what a pun! That's sure to piss him off!_ Sensing her companion's irritation, she quickly got up and sat on his back, holding on the horn-like things for support. "Alright mister, gently!"

_You're in no position to command me, ingrate._ And soon enough, Cell ran, his short but strong limbs carried them off to a steady speed. He was going at about thirty kilometers per hour to spare the girl from falling off.

Enne tightened her grip on his horns and Cell sped off to the south.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	3. Worm and Griffin

**Author's Notes: **Alright, if you've guessed, I tried hard to make it feel like Dragon Ball. Y'know, childish protagonist, the adventure, and all. But the light tone won't cover the whole story. The chapter titles will also sound a little less cheery when the serious tone sinks in.

Ok, enough of me. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Worm and Griffin**

_Four hours, insane. _Enne thought, her head leaning over the curve between Cell's horns. Feeling the cool breeze through her face relieved some of the boredom. _We must've covered over a hundred kilometers. He's not stopping though. I'm in luck. _

An area that seemed to be a thin forest appeared on the southern horizon. Enne checked the dragon radar._ Thirty more minutes and we'd be at the edge of that small forest. Then the dragon ball would be within a two mile radius. Good._ "Cell, aren't you tired?"

_"No."_

"Let's stop by those trees, ok? I want to stretch my legs and have a snack."

Cell gradually slowed himself and halted beside a tree. Enne jumped down, sat leaning against the tree, and grabbed a bar of chocolate from her backpack. She took a small bite and looked at her companion. "Want some?" she asked through stained teeth.

_Disgusting._ Cell said nothing.

"Are you sure? They taste good."

She picked off a small square and held it near his beak. "Open up!" she said playfully. Surprisingly, Cell opened his beak and enclosed half of Enne's hand. He pulled it back and swallowed the chocolate. Enne, eyes wide and mouth thin, stared at her hand which was now covered with a clear and sticky fluid. "Didn't I tell you?" she said with a big grin on her face as she wiped the wet hand on the tree and the grass. After washing said hand with bottled water, she grabbed the dragon radar and saw that the dragon ball was further south.

The two stopped walking upon reaching the center of a meadow. "I don't get it, the dragon ball's supposed to be here. It's as if I'm standing on it." Enne stared at the ground below. _All I see is grass. _She looked farther south. _That's the sea._ She would be enjoying this if it weren't for the missing dragon ball. She tried shaking the radar but no luck, it blinked in the exact location she was standing on. She looked up and saw nothing but a lone eagle flying by. Her knees weakened and she slumped down on the grass. _I can't believe this. My first dragon ball and it's nowhere in sight._

Cell looked at the radar and he too was unsettled. Before he could protest, the ground below them shook. The shaking continued and he couldn't believe his eyes but the land Enne was slumped on seemed to be shaking. It formed a bump then Enne was raised about a meter from the ground. The girl did not notice this happen as she was too busy despairing over the dragon ball. Cell was rooted to the spot. A giant worm had appeared. It roared and dove back under the ground throwing Enne off, she landed on her face. "Whah?"

Cell ran in front of her shifting his front legs as if he were saying something. Before Enne could even rise, the land beneath them shook and she was thrown off-balance, Cell stepped back and barely avoided the worm. It was diving like a dolphin in the sea, only it was a giant worm on a grassy field.

"You see that?" Cell bit hard on one of her fingers. "Ouch!" Enne wanted to stay and run around the meadow to satisfy her curiosity but seeing that Cell ran toward the trees by the edge, she too ran in that direction. Stopping just by a tree, the two looked back and wondered if the worm would show up and dive again. They waited about a minute to no avail.

"You think it's coming back?"

_"You said the dragon ball was there."_

"It must be! Grandpa believed the whole thing enough to keep this in his drawer and tell me the story!" Her grip tightened on the radar. "Maybe that thing swallowed it or…" A thought struck her. "The ground shook so much that it got buried! Then all we have to do is dig it up!"

_"Then you go dig."_

"Are you crazy? You're the one with claws here you go dig it up," she insisted.

Cell walked again toward the middle and Enne followed suit. There was anxiety in every step he took, expecting the worm to resurface. The girl behind him didn't seem to care as she hummed some upbeat tune. _How admirably ignorant, if she saw the fangs on that thing she wouldn't even be here. _

They stopped at where the dragon ball was supposed to be. Cell started digging. Soon enough, the ground started to shake and the worm appeared just a couple of feet away. It stuck its head out of the ground and roared showing a set of sharp teeth. Cell started fleeing again to the edge of the meadow but stopped when he saw Enne face the worm, it was roaring.

"What's the big idea? We come here looking for a dragon ball and you go diving over and over again like an idiot, what's the matter with you?"

The worm stared at her with its black, beady eyes. "I am prince Wamu of this forest! You are trespassing, shame on you." He had a feeble voice for someone with a great roar.

"Could you please let us dig for the dragon ball? We'll leave as soon as we find it, promise." Enne put on an imploring look.

"Hm. How about, no?"

"Please?"

"No."

Thinking that she would provoke the worm's wrath if she insisted, she took what she thought was the best course of action. "Why not?"

"Because it is my duty to protect this land from anything and anyone who comes across it."

"But we're not trouble."

"I don't care!"

Enne groaned. "But you seem to be the only one around here, don't you get lonely?"

The worm twitched. "That's none of your business," he said as he looked away.

_I must've hit a sensitive spot, bingo._ "What if it is? No creature deserves to be lonely."

And the worm twitched again. He slithered out of the burrow until his whole length surfaced. She stared at him. _This guy must be three meters long!_

"Well, I guess I don't mind. Just keep your heads down."

"So, we can dig?" She hid her excitement.

"That's what I said."

"Alright!" She jumped. She looked around and saw Cell who was standing just a few meters away. "What are you doing there? Go on, dig!"

Cell was dumbfounded. After a lag in registering her command, he went back to the spot and continued digging. He couldn't believe it but somehow, the girl had manipulated the worm's feelings. _She looks like a numbskull but that may just be a mere façade. She might be of more use after all._

Unknown to Cell, Enne did not do anything to manipulate the worm. She meant everything she said and was genuinely curious why the worm was alone and insistent on protecting this glum forest.

"Wamu, right?" She turned to the big worm. "You said something about keeping our heads down?"

"You'll see." Wamu raised his head to look up and she did the same. Just plain blue sky, what could the worm be saying?

"You're afraid of the sky?"

Cell almost slipped while he was digging. _For a second there I thought she had a brain but it seems I thought too soon._

"I'm sorry. I'm not really a prince, but it sounded pretty cool huh?" Wamu slithered, he kept his head raised and stared at the sky. "King Washi's just waiting for the time I let my guard down. When I do, he'll pick me up and feed me to his children like he did every other giant worm that lived here. Then no one'll stay to take care of the forest anymore. I can't let that happen." He lowered his head.

"King, Washi?" Enne sat down beside the hole Cell was digging and glanced to check on his progress. _That's going to take a while_.

"He's a bird, bigger than me. He flies over here three times a day. At morning, noon, and night."

_You mean this worm goes through that every day without someone to talk to? It's like waiting to die!_ She scrunched her cheek. "That sucks."

"Yes it does."

After a brief moment of silence, Enne stood up and put her hands on her hip. "It's settled, we'll teach this Washi guy a lesson."

The worm looked at her, blinking its beady eyes. "You're not serious?"

"Of course I am. Right, Cell?"

Cell kept on clawing the ground. _Leave me out of this._

"You said he comes here at night, birds are weak at night, that'll be the perfect time to attack him. C'mon, we need to think of a plan before he gets here."

Wamu was deep in thought. He wasn't willing to put the two strangers in danger and even if he did allow them to stand up against the bird, their chances of winning was slim to none. "No I can't, you don't understand how serious this is."

"I do, and even if I didn't, I'd still take the risk." She smiled at him.

_She looks really determined to pull through with this. _"Show me why I should believe we could win."

Without saying anything else, Enne steadied herself to a fighting stance, jumped and turned in the air to show off a flying kick, landed quite gracefully, gathered her ki with both hands, and let out a thin yellow blast.

Wamu gaped. Cell stopped digging for a second. _Now that was unexpected._

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Nothing special. I had to learn to protect myself now that my grandpa's gone."

* * *

The sky turned from blood orange to dark lavender. As night fell, Enne and Wamu finished planning and Cell stopped digging.

Cell grabbed the shiny orange ball with his claws and with little effort, crawled out of the hole and approached the girl who was training for the ambush.

Enne looked in his direction and saw the ball lying on the ground. She crouched and picked it up to examine it. It was really sleek and had four stars. "The four-star dragon ball!" Without thinking, she hugged Cell while shouting "Alright! Alright!"

_"Get, off, me."_ The statement came off as a mutter. Enne didn't even hear it but she pulled away. She kept her gaze on the dragon ball as Wamu approached. "I promised you we'd leave as soon as we found this, right?"

The worm was stunned. _Oh dear it can't be my future plans are ruined I-._

"I'm sorry, that's a promise I can't keep, and just after making it a while ago." The girl frowned. _Well, promises are meant to be broken for a good cause, right?_

Wamu sighed with relief. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Nah don't worry, it's against me to leave you like this."

Cell couldn't understand. _We've already wasted much time! And what did she mean it's against herself? There is no consequence in leaving this pathetic worm. She's beyond me!_

The group heard a rustling sound from far away, it sounded like a giant bird flapping its wings. The time to execute their plan had come.

"This is it, Wamu, you stay here. The moment the bird goes for you I'll kick it hard. Cell, if something between our fight goes wrong, you distract him."

Enne and Cell retreated to a spot near the trees. Soon enough, the great griffin Washi descended to hover over the worm. The moon illuminated his sleek white feathers and dangerously sharp black talons.

"You're still here? Why can't you understand that I'm being kind? I'm offering you a way to end your miserable life." For an eagle-lion hybrid, he had a condescending smirk on his well-formed beak.

"Leave me alone!" As Wamu protested, the bird was kicked on his side and rolled off on the grass.

Washi straightened his wings and pulled himself up, he had a hard time detecting his attacker. "You sneaky!"

"Over here birdbrain!" Enne called, readying her legs for another kick. The bird looked in her direction. _Wamu wasn't joking. This is no ordinary bird, it's a freakin' griffin!_

"How dare you!" Washi flapped his wings and charged straight at the girl. Enne ran to gather momentum for a stronger kick and jumped with her leg extended. Her heel smashed into the griffin's beak. The bird was pushed and landed with a thud. "Y-you!" Before he could rise, Enne wrapped him in a headlock.

"Leave Wamu alone or I'll strangle you to death!" She didn't mean the last part but the griffin would never know anyway.

"W-who are you?" he sputtered under his breath.

"I'm Enne!" She tightened the headlock. "If you ever do anything bad to Wamu, be sure I'll be there to kick your sorry ass anytime anywhere!"

"Uh! Alright you win! Please just let me breathe!" The griffin flapped his wings, running out breath was becoming painful.

"Promise?"

"Yes oh yes!"

Enne let him go. The bird ran around, opening his beak wide to savor the air. Finally, he stopped. She ran toward him and grabbed one of his wings. "How do I know you'll keep your promise?"

"Griffins are creatures of their word, young miss. Once a griffin has given you his word he'll die first before he breaks it," Washi said with a dignified expression as he stared at Wamu, he saw something like a big beetle beside the worm.

"You aren't that bad after all." Enne let his wing go. "Why don't you stay with us 'til morning? It's too dangerous for a bird to fly blind this deep in the night."

The girl had a point. "Very well. I won't do anything funny!" he blurted out as he saw the wary look on her face.

"Good, then goodnight!" Before anyone could move, Enne walked over to Cell and leaned on his side. She took off the eggshells, grabbed her blanket from the backpack, and went to sleep.

Wamu burrowed near Enne. Washi lay down and closed his eyes. Cell gave up the thought of walking somewhere more comfortable and less exposed to the sky. He didn't bother to occupy his mind with whatever happened today let alone the girl sleeping beside him. Most of it was useless and not worth contemplating. He bent his limbs and slept.

* * *

**Other Notes:** Wamu and Washi are my characters.

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	4. Friendship, Trust, and Guilt

**Chapter 4: Friendship, Trust, and Guilt**

_Just a ways northeast of here, Hm._ Enne fiddled with the dragon radar. Her companions were still asleep and there were a few more hours before dawn. She rolled her blanket, put it back in the bag, and checked for the dragon ball. It was safely put in a pocket inside the backpack. She stood up and strolled a bit to stretch her muscles. Washi heard her footsteps on the grass.

"I have to go, my children are hungry." He stood on four legs and ruffled his feathers.

Enne turned to face the griffin. "So soon?"

"Yes. I have to fly quite a distance from here to the mountains in the northeast."

"Northeast? Wait, um, could you do us one last favor? My bug-like friend and I would like to go northeast too."

"Okay, but no kicking!"

The paranoid griffin made her chuckle. "Sure!"

Cell heard the whole conversation. _It can't be, so she helped the worm because she knew that a griffin that big would be able to fly us to our next destination? Crafty. _Little did he know that Washi's flight northeast was just a convenient coincidence.

She ran to where the worm was burrowed and stomped on the ground. "Hey Wamu! Wamu!"

The worm stuck his head just a little above the ground. "Good morning, Ms. Enne."

"Oh please drop the 'miss'. Washi's going to take us far northeast with him, you take care of yourself and the forest, okay? We have to go soon."

"You take care of yourselves too. Look, your friend's already awake." Enne and Wamu looked over at Cell who was walking toward the bird.

As Enne ran to Washi, he lowered his head so that she could board. She hopped on the griffin's back and waved at Wamu. "Goodbye!"

Cell looked at her._ "How about me?"_

"Silly! You can't sit here, you're too big! Washi's going to pick you up with his claws."

_Just great. I despise this pupa form._

"Everyone hold on tight, oh, that means me too." Washi grinned as he grasped Cell's round body and took flight. Enne grabbed on to his neck, looked down, and saw Wamu watching them. He looked so small now that they were up so high. The griffin flew to the northeast.

* * *

_With this speed, we'll be there in no time._ Enne looked down and saw a small town, the people looked like dots moving back and forth. _That must be Gingertown. Oh well, my trip to West City's cancelled but on the bright side, this is way faster to get there. Plus, morning wind feels great!_

* * *

The radar started to beep louder. Enne looked at it and saw that the dragon ball was just a mile away. "Washi, could you please drop us there, just beside that hill?"

"Yes of course," the griffin replied. He flew to the area, lowered his altitude, and let go of Cell when he was near enough to the ground. He landed and lowered his body so that Enne could descend.

"Thanks a lot." She petted his soft feathers and jumped off.

"You're welcome." The griffin took a last glance at them and ran gracefully with his muscular limbs. He finally took off. Enne followed him with her eyes, she felt honored to have ridden a griffin, a creature as elegant as the legends say. He disappeared into the rocky region.

"If I'm right, the dragon ball should be at the foot of that plateau." She pointed east.

Cell scanned the area. _What a wide wasteland, there may be a number of hills and plateaus but not many enough to be considered obstacles._

After reaching the foot of the plateau and checking the radar, Enne felt the grass beneath. There was a depressed spot and as she sank her hand to probe it, she felt a smooth, round, surface. _Alright!_ She pulled it out. She examined it and it had one star. "Look Cell! I got the one-star dragon ball!"

Cell looked at the ball she held in front of him. _"Just five more?"_

"Yup." Enne put the ball in her bag inside the pocket with the other one. She scanned the vast wasteland. "Looks like a perfect place to hold a tournament. You know, there's this thing we call the world martial arts tournament where the strongest fighters around the world gather for sport. The winner gets the huge prize money, but if you ask me the experience _is _the prize. My grandpa used to enter until he had me to take care of."

_A tournament? How grand. "Your grandpa?"_

"Yeah, he's the one who took care of me. He trained, educated, and taught me a lot of stuff. Grandpa was strong and very nice. I wish I could've shown you to him, he had a liking for the unusual."

_I see you take after someone. "Where is the next dragon ball?"_

"A long walk from here. It's even further northeast in the mountain regions near North City, according to the map. I'm telling you it's going to take a while."

_"Then let's."_ Cell walked.

"You're in high spirits." And Enne followed him.

* * *

"I wonder what Wamu's doing right now." Enne rubbed wooden sticks to start a fire. She saw Cell approach with firewood in his beak. The darkness was fast approaching and they had no choice but to camp at the foot of the mountain.

Cell dropped the firewood near the campfire. _"Why do you care?" _

"Because he's my friend, and he's alone." She sat near the campfire, taking in the warmth it emitted with her palms.

_"Friend?" But you knew him for only a day._

"Yeah. Friends could be anyone you care about and best friends are those you trust and share a lot of things with, like jokes and memories."

Concepts like friend, trust, and share were vague to Cell. These were distractions from perfection and he knew he had no use for them. He wondered what the girl would wish for if they collected the dragon balls. _She's sure to wish for perfection too, who wouldn't?_

_"What are you going to wish for with the dragon balls?"_

"That's top secret." The girl gave him a mocking look.

_Curses. Hm, shall I confuse her? "So you don't trust me?"_

"Hey, I do, but that's something I want to keep to myself."

_"So I am not your friend?" _Cell tried pressuring her into spilling her secret.

"Not fair! Stop making me feel guilty! We've been together for months, how are you not my friend?" Enne crossed her arms and averted her gaze from the android to the flame.

_"Then you're being selfish." Which is completely rational. "The dragon balls can only grant one wish."_

"Yeah, uh, we'll think of something. Bargain, or maybe play rock-paper-scissors." The thought of seeing Cell play rock-paper-scissors with his little claws made her giggle in her mind. Thinking of ways to make the wish equitable was hard so after a short while, her mind strayed from that issue and she just decided to propose a trade. "If you told me your wish then maybe I'll tell you mine, how about it? Are you game?" She smirked and gave him the mocking look that he abhorred. She thought she was in control.

_Devious little. "No, that is mine to keep."_

"Then, I'm not your friend?" The same look not leaving her face.

_"No,"_ he answered, quite effortlessly, with a monotonous tone.

Enne turned her gaze from Cell to the campfire. The smirk on her face disappeared and was, unconsciously, replaced by a slight frown. She tried denying that she regretted asking the last question but she wanted to know anyway and that was the answer she got. She lived most of her life alone and hearing that curt _"No"_ was, as much as she denied it, like a stab in the chest.

She stood and retreated to the tent, distracting herself. _Really, I should buy a capsule once we reach North City._

Cell lay prone near the fire, pondering on a word the girl mentioned. The concept was new to him. _Guilty, so that's what they call it when they feel bad knowing that they did something they believe is wrong. Human emotions are useless. I am to be a perfect being, why should I feel guilt?_

* * *

**Remark: **Oooh, how are they going to split the wish? Find out in the next... Nah.

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	5. North City

**Author's Notes: **I changed the title from _Unknowable Bonds_ to _The Bonds That Can't Be Known_, tell me which one you prefer. :D

**Honeybunches123** - Wamu is japanese for worm. Guess what Washi means.

And wow guys, thanks for the reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 5: North City**

Weeks passed as the unlikely pair traversed the mountain path to the northern region. It wasn't an easy task, there were steep ridges and it was as if the weather was against them. Sometimes it drizzled, sometimes it rained. Finally, relief found its way to Enne's face as she and her companion walked through the descent and reached a cliff that overlooked North City. Surrounded by mountains in the dusk sky, the city looked wonderfully beautiful.

"Look, it's North City!" The girl raised her hands up to the sky. Cell, too, looked over at the city.

After reflecting on the beauty of the view, Enne put her hands on her hips and said, "Let's go find ourselves lodging."

* * *

As they passed through the southwestern entrance, the guard gave Cell a suspicious look but Enne told him that it was just her younger brother in a beetle costume. Security in the city entrances was tight due to the probability of raids by mountain bandits. After clearance from the guard, they were able to enter. Some people glanced at them, it was obvious that they were travelers.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me where the inn is?" Enne asked an old man with a cane who was passing by.

"The inn's somewhere left of the first corner or, if you want a more expensive place to stay, turn right and you'll see the hotel."

"Thank you." Enne walked and Cell followed beside her. When the old man knew that he was out of their sight, he looked at Cell for a moment, shook his head, and continued his stroll.

"You're quite the celebrity." Enne smirked as she turned her eyes to look at Cell, anticipating his irritation at the joke and the people who glanced at him.

_Humans are bewildered by the unusual. They also fear what they don't understand. "I prefer it that way."_

_Did I imagine that or did Cell just put on some sass?_ "Um, okay?"

They finally arrived at the inn. Enne swung the door open. The lobby was decorated with a white and beige color palette and lit by a quaint silver chandelier. She walked toward the reception counter. "Room for two, please."

"Um, miss, we're sorry but we don't allow pets in rooms," the receptionist said with a suspicious look at the bug-like creature beside the girl.

"Don't worry, that's just my weirdo li'l' brother in his favorite costume." Enne laughed and waved her hand back and forth.

_"Weirdo?"_ Cell grumbled.

"Oh shush, it's an effective excuse," muttered Enne.

"Huh! Oh my I didn't notice! I'm very sorry, okay? That'll be seven thousand zeni please. Thank you. Here's the card key to your room, if you have any questions please ask the staff. Have a nice stay." Enne took the card key and went for the stairs.

After reaching the third floor, swiping the card key, and opening the door, she dropped her bag near one of the twin-size beds. "I had to ask for a room for two or else it wouldn't sound convincing. Clever, huh?"

_"You seem to have a lot of money to burn." _Cell positioned himself on the wide space between the beds and readied himself to sleep.

"I don't know how grandpa earned it but he left me with quite a sum!" She mused. _Maybe he saved a lot so I would be able to search for the dragon balls and make a wish, just maybe._ "I'm going to take a shower." And with that, she sauntered into the bathroom.

* * *

Enne heard something tapping the nightstand. She had such a deep slumber and was hesitant on opening her eyes but alas, she couldn't resist that incessant tapping of something on wood. She groaned.

_"Someone left breakfast outside,"_ growled that familiar robotic voice.

She crawled to the far side of the bed and sat up, stretched herself, and went to open the door. Indeed, a food cart was there holding a tray of warm food. She pushed it close to the bed, sat down, and inhaled the mouth-watering scent of breakfast. There were blueberries, French toast, pancake with syrup, and bacon and eggs.

_Grand. _She grabbed a blueberry and held it to Cell. "No dirtying my fingers this time." He carefully pecked it from her hand and swallowed. "You could just tell me straight up that you're hungry, y'know."

The android blinked at her.

"Look, I'm not your mother, creator, whatever, but I'm all you've got." _And it looks like you're all I've got too._ She grabbed a toast and held it to him.

_Hm? She's relatively dull_. He tried guessing what made her downcast. _"You don't want to share?"_

Enne shook her head and looked at him with perplexed eyes and a half-open mouth. "Huh? No! I'm telling you that if you need something, just tell me. Last time a thorn was stuck in your foot you told me _there seems to be something in my foot that is annoying me_ when you could've just shown me and said _would you pluck this from my foot_. Now you allude to your hunger by telling me breakfast was outside the door, like c'mon." She couldn't suppress a chuckle. "If you told me you were hungry I'd have ordered room service with twice as much food as this." It looked like he misinterpreted her concern for discontent.

Cell felt a funny feeling inside him and it somewhat irritated him. His logic told him to minimize ordering the girl around because, at this stage, she could easily dispose of him. _The strong survive and the weak perish, as Vegeta would say. The strong enslave the weak. Why someone stronger than I, as of now, would reduce herself to? Damn, it's completely illogical. She's completely illogical._

"Hello? Food's getting cold, you won't want that." Enne waved the toast in front of him.

Cell snapped out of his thoughts and quickly nibbled at the bread.

"You're hopeless," she said as she put her elbow on the cart and rested her cheek on the heel of her palm.

* * *

The breeze was cold, typical of a mountain morning. After having eaten a hearty breakfast, the two proceeded to the capsule shop.

"One small house capsule please." Enne grabbed her wallet and flipped though the bills.

"Should I request for one with a pet bed?" the customer service lady inquired as she glanced at Cell.

"No thanks." Enne giggled. "But do get one with a big fridge."

Cell was quite pleased to hear the last statement. It must have been his Saiyan cells, though he himself didn't know exactly how his biology worked and which cells were programmed to be more dominant. He had Namekian cells from Piccolo which should suppress his appetite but it seems the Saiyan cells from Goku and Vegeta overpowered that.

"Thank you. Have a nice day."

They exited the shop. The capsule was stored neatly in a light metal case. Enne put it in the front pocket of her backpack.

"We're ready to go, just a hike in the mountains and the dragon ball's as good as ours." She tried to be optimistic and mustered her confidence for the next journey. The last one didn't bring a lot of fond memories aside from the little exchanges between her and Cell. The creature, despite his serious attitude and snarky remarks, had grown on her. One thing she wondered about was if she had grown on him.

Finding the eastern exit of the city was an easy task, but the real challenge lies on the adventure ahead. They have to climb and walk a hundred miles worth of mountain roads and cliffs. The first thing they had to do was look for the beginning of the ascent.

"We'll walk the road until we're near the dragon ball, that's when we search."

And here, at the foot of the Northern Mountains, begins their journey for the third dragon ball.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	6. Sunset Sky

**Author's Notes: **Where are my manners? I'd like to thank TheLadyIntegra for writing Simply Perfect, this work is heavily inspired by her and her great story.

I'm about to write the last chapter of this. To be honest, I've outlined three possible endings. Maybe I'll reveal them when I've posted the last chapter. I do hope that I've chosen the most proper ending. (*_*)

Yep, I decided to put the second dragon ball in the place where the Cell Games was held.

He heh, reading your reviews makes me nervous. I hope the wish moment, the Cell Games, and the ending aren't too anticlimactic.

**Chemistry-Deaf** - The original title was Unknowable Bonds.

Thank you for the support, well then, here's chapter 6.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Sunset Sky**

Grass, rocks, trees, and dirt paths make up the natural scenery of the Northern Mountains. The twilight skies the pair has seen in the days of their travel were stunning indeed. In the morning, the golden glow of the sun rising in the east looked magnificent. In the night, the harmony of the moon and the stars was truly a spectacle to look at. But the most amazing sight of all was the sunset. Enne would always dangle her feet on the edge of a cliff and wait for it to disappear under the horizon before activating her capsule home.

They've passed about seventy miles of road and mountain path already. She checked the dragon radar and looked in the direction where it indicated the dragon ball. As expected, they have to jump off the path and walk the cliffs beneath. She looked even further and saw the steep, narrow ridge that extended east. _Kami guide us as we cross that._

She called to the creature that was absent-mindedly walking forward. "You're going the wrong way! We have to jump off, don't worry, it's not that steep."

For some reason, this place was familiar to Cell. There was nothing but cliffs in the northwest. Still, he felt something that pushed him to go there. _Have I been here before, perhaps in my timeline?_

Enne saw him standing there and staring in the opposite direction. "Earth to Cell! I'm going now if you don't mind." She walked to the edge of the cliff, scanned the area for rocks and elevations, and hopped off. Cell snapped out of his trance. He crawled to where Enne jumped and slid his body down the slope. The path beneath was narrow, it allowed passage for a width of about two people beside each other, only a little bit wider than Cell. The ridge perpendicular to it, the one they had to cross, was even worse. Cell would have to walk carefully with as little a distance as possible between his feet just to prevent himself from falling over the edge.

Enne stood against the wall opposite the cliff and walked sideways. _You can never be too careful._ When they reached the start of the ridge, she gathered her courage, inhaling and exhaling as she did so.

"Say, why don't you wait here for me? It's a bit dangerous," she said, hiding her fear behind a smile. _Did I say a bit dangerous, I meant the life-threatening kind of dangerous._

_"No, I will go."_ To be told that he can't handle something that she can was a blow to his pride, he did have Vegeta's cells after all.

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you. Just be extra careful, no rushing. For that, I'll go first." Enne focused her eyes forward as she walked on the narrow ridge, she avoided looking down. _What the heck, the waterfall rocks I used to jump on back and forth were more treacherous than this!_ Due to her curious nature, she couldn't help but scan everything. The view was breathtaking. The noon sun was high up in the sky, lighting the entirety of the mountains. The green of the foliage brought out a cheerful contrast with the brown spots. She extended her arms sideward, the cool breeze that caressed them felt revitalizing. Her fear disappeared, nostalgic feelings surfaced as she reminisced the days when she would run across the forest and jump beside waterfalls and over cliffs. Now she wanted to skip through the ridge but of course she couldn't do that, she had to look after her friend who, she noticed, barely kept his balance.

"Slowly, alright?" she cautioned him.

* * *

Enne checked the radar she had on hand. They were already halfway but it would take another kilometer to the dragon ball. Once they reached there, they would have covered almost a mile.

As Cell walked, he felt a portion of the soil erode as he stepped on it. He quickly lost his balance and slipped to the left side, Enne heard the scuffle of his claws on the ridge and turned immediately to see him sliding down. She waived her shock, quickly pushed the radar into her pocket, crouched, and grabbed his left foreleg with both hands. He was completely dangling beside the ridge.

"Kami! Are you alright? This is what I was talking about!" Enne shouted out, more as a battle cry than a lecture. She couldn't believe how heavy Cell was. She gritted her teeth and pulled her head up to support her crouched legs, any more movement besides standing up would cause her to fall off too. There was no more room on the narrow ridge to step back.

_"Kami?"_ He asked with his usual monotonous tone. He was fully aware that his body could take a fall from a height like this so he had no reason to panic. What he regrets is that he thought he had committed a failure and the effort he exerted to walk that kilometer on the ridge was reduced to nothing.

"You're asking me who Kami is at a time like this?" Enne strained her voice.

_"Let me go,"_ Cell said.

"W-what?" She couldn't believe what he just said.

_"Let, me, go,"_ he commanded.

"No, you'll die." She raised her brow and left her mouth half-open.

_"I will not. I will simply fall. You can get the dragon ball and meet me at the foot of the mountain where we began."_

Enne closed her eyes for a moment and contemplated his suggestion. No matter how convenient that sounded, she wouldn't have any of it. Without a word, she shifted her hands for a tighter grip, gathered her strength to her forearms, and tried to stand up vertically. Her legs were shaking. She pulled Cell a little bit over the edge, the effort straining her arms. She took a deep breath, pulled harder, which was easy because she had practiced balancing herself under pressure since childhood, and carefully set the creature down sideways on the ridge behind her as it were before. Cell rolled himself upright. She slumped on the ridge, letting her legs hang from the edge, and stretched her arms upwards. "Ah! That was close!"

Cell stared at her tired eyes. _That strength of hers, maybe she is stronger than I give her credit for. A shell as dense as mine can guard against a fall from a height of two-hundred fifty miles but she pulled my weight just like that. Hm._

Enne turned her head to face him with scrunched eyebrows and a frown. "Where's my thank you?"

_"Thank, you?"_

"You know, the thing you say after people do something good for you?" She raised an eyebrow.

_"Pardon me. Thank you."_

Enne was stunned. After months of conversing with this creature, she was expecting utter silence or a dismissive reply. Times like these when she asked something of him, they would end up pissing each other off and she got used to it. "Y-you're welcome," she awkwardly said.

She stood up and continued walking, they did have a kilometer left to cover.

* * *

The radar was beeping loudly, Enne checked it and found that they were already there. Luckily, this part of the ridge was as wide as the road they came from. There was a small shrub on the right.

_How obvious._ She walked to the shrub, stuck her hand deep in it, and started feeling for the dragon ball. The feeling of the soft leaves rubbing against her arm was soothing. Her hand found a smooth, round surface. She quickly pulled it out of the shrub. "Finally!" She noticed that it had three stars. "What a coincidence, our third dragon ball has three stars." She showed it to Cell before putting it in her bag with the others. "Now we have three."

_"Let's go back." _

And without a word, Enne followed. This time she was behind him so that she could keep a close eye on his movements. If he ever slipped again, it'd be easier to pull him up.

* * *

It was a few more minutes until sunset and they were back on the road. As usual, Enne stopped to dangle her legs over the cliff and stare at the western sky. Rarely did he do this but Cell walked over and stood beside her.

"You're being unusually considerate," she said.

_"W-what?"_ he stammered, not sure if he understood.

"Look." She pointed at the setting sun.

_"Why are you so fond of that?"_ he asked as he regained composure.

"You don't know? Just look at it. The color of the sun contrasts perfectly with the sky. It gives off this nostalgic but comforting feeling. It's one of those little nature things I appreciate."

Cell stared at the sun and tried taking the view in like his companion, more to know why she finds it captivating than to appreciate it. Enne secretly turned her eyes to look at his, the scene was even more fascinating when she saw it in his little pink eyes. _Wow, pretty._

When the sun fully set and the sky grew dark, she whispered, "Let's call it a day."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	7. Rebuild East City with Dragon Balls!

**Author's Notes:** I assumed East City never got rebuilt since there's always a ruined city stage in the Dragon Ball games, lol. So the people went to Orange Star City (now Satan City) instead or somewhere.

And also, I assumed that Cell was created in the year 762 since that's when Dr. Gero started collecting cells, if the DB wiki is correct.

Year 762 – Larval Cell was created in both default and future timelines (my assumption)

Year 786 – Cell was born in his timeline according to the wiki (because the Cell in the default timeline was killed, right?) In what form, I don't know... but I think it's either shelled or imperfect form = 24

Year 788 – Cell used the time machine to go to DBZ default timeline year 763 = 26

Year 763-767 – Pupal Cell was burrowed (in canon) = 30

767 onwards – Cell Saga (Imperfect to Perfect) = 30 years old

Those're my assumptions anyway.

Thanks for reading. Now we only have three more chapters before Imperfect Cell, cheers!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Rebuild East City with Dragon Balls!**

_A year has passed since Enne and Cell's first encounter_

"If you look closely, we're about here. Southeast down the mountain slope is Spinach Wastes. East of that is Bamboo Forest, we have to tread lightly because they say some monsters are there. Finally, a short walk east, as its name says, is East City where we search for the dragon ball." Enne pointed at each of the locations on the map for Cell to see. The map was laid flat on the coffee table in the living room. The small capsule house was very cozy and had more than enough room for two. The clean white walls and the glossy maple parquet really gave off a simple but modern feel. The sun's golden rays entered through the small windows, signaling the light of dawn.

"So Spinach Wastes, Bamboo Forest, and East City." Enne kept repeating the locations in her mind. _Ew, I'm starting to sound like some obsolete kid's show._ "Are you ready?"

Without answering, Cell went for the door. Enne folded the map, stored it in her backpack, and double-checked the room for the last time. She left Cell's eggshells on the sofa since there was no need for them and she could always pick them up any time they're needed. She opened the door and closed it after the android got out. She surveyed the morning environment. Since there were no more mountains covering the sun from where they were situated, its rays shone straight at them, lighting the mountain side with a shade of gold. There was a wide southward slope that descended to the path they had to travel to get to Spinach Wastes. Judging by the map, the river that snaked along this path extended from the north all the way to the eastern sea. Even this long river was illuminated gold, the reflection was an unforgettable sight.

She pushed the button behind the house and it reverted to a capsule. _I've got to hand it to Capsule Corp, they're mighty creative! Speaking of Capsule Corp…_

Cell started going down the slope, Enne ran and caught up to him. "Say, you never really told me why you were in a Capsule Corp spaceship."

Cell knew he had to carefully select information. Revealing too much would throw him off. If he said the spaceship was actually a time machine and he was from the future sent here for a purpose he kept classified, then he might give her the wrong impression. _"Do I have to?"_

"Well, yeah. If you don't mind, that is." Being pushy was one skill Enne used with restraint.

_"I hatched in the ship, so how am I supposed to know?"_ Contrary to the lie, he knew perfectly why and how he went here in this particular timeline.

"Oh, but don't you have any data on your creator?"

_"He was an old man and he died shortly before I was sent via spaceship. A final attempt to preserve me, maybe."_ More lies.

"Oh… I'm sorry." She kept silent for a while, recalling the day she met him. "How many years has it been since you hatched? Before I met you, I mean."

_"Approximately two years."_

"So technically, you're three years old?" The girl suppressed her laughter. He was too smart and prideful for a three-year-old.

_"Counting from the day I was created, which is in my memory, I have lived twenty-nine years as of now." _

Enne stopped in her tracks. She was shocked. She tried doing the math. _So he was created twelve years before I was born?_ "How is it that you don't remember anything? You mean it took twenty-six years for the egg to hatch?" She continued walking.

_"No,"_ Cell replied. Stating the truth about his age will leave gaps about his activities in his future timeline which will make the numbers inconsistent, so he had to simplify his answer. _"I am first a larva inside an egg. I cannot estimate the time it takes for me to develop into this form because my data on that is insufficient." _He also knew the time it takes per metamorphosis, it was crucial knowledge for crafting plans.

"But, you're sure about being twenty-nine?" She twiddled her thumbs. She talked casually, at times too friendly, to someone who was older than her by more than ten years. It just didn't feel right.

_"Without error."_

Enne was sure to remember that information. He was a very mysterious creature. She would ask him about why he was created, his purpose, his overall biology and development, where his creator was born and died, and many more if she could but she tried not to delve deep in those matters because she didn't want to push him. Especially now, knowing how much older he is than her.

* * *

The vast grassland of the Spinach Wastes was amazing to look at. Pink chicken ostriches were grazing here and there, scattered along the area near a small country house. As the pair passed by behind the house, a lone farmer called out to them.

"Hey miss, interesting creature you got there!" He was just beyond the fence, loading the bed of his pickup truck with hay.

"Eh, thanks?" Enne waved to acknowledge him. She smiled awkwardly and turned her face away from him, in the direction of Bamboo Forest.

"Never seen a crawler like that before." The farmer wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead with his arm and continued stacking hay onto his truck.

* * *

The palm trees and shrubs in Bamboo Forest left an open view of the clear blue sky. Enne looked up and saw that the noon sun was high up, she shielded her eyes with her hand and squinted at it. Cell stopped to study what she was doing. _Hmph, she's spacing out on trivialities again_. Both of them suddenly became alert when they heard the sound of leaves rustling on the northeast end of the forest. They stepped back to the nearest shade of palm trees.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, more to herself than to Cell.

The rustling sound grew louder and when they stared in its direction, something huge emerged from the foliage. A fat blue pterodactyl flapped its wings, sending a cool breeze in all directions. It uttered a shrill cry and flew into the sky. Enne's eyes, wide open, followed its flight until it disappeared in the southeast. She hadn't noticed her tight grip on the palm tree and when she did, let go and heaved a sigh of relief. Cell continued walking as if nothing happened.

"Hey! Wait for me, please," she murmured and ran to catch up with her companion.

* * *

Weeks have passed since their journey from the northeast end of the Northern Mountains, across Spinach Wastes, and through Bamboo Forest. It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at the ruins of East City. It was a depressingly desolate place, worsened by the dull red and purple hue of the twilight sky.

Cell scanned the area. It was totally barren and covered with dust. Structures reduced to wreckage. Towers and poles that remained at the far edge of the city leaned dangerously, as if a push would send them crashing down. Most of the city was reduced to rubble. Undoubtedly, the most striking view was the big crater in the middle that occupied more than half of the city. _Who could have caused such destruction? Was he one whose cells I possess? Or was he a past threat that the Saiyans have eradicated?_

_"Why is this city in ruin?"_ He couldn't help but ask the girl beside him who was crouching down and feeling the dry soil at the crater's edge. He did have information on the biology and powers of those whose cells he had but not much of the memories and events they partook in.

"I forgot to tell you that this city was destroyed by aliens four years ago. It was a televised event, I thought it was one of those fantasy martial arts TV shows grandpa liked to watch but then he told me it was real." She absent-mindedly rubbed the dust in her fingers and held the dragon radar with her free hand. It seems the dragon ball was in the middle of the crater.

_"Go on,"_ he said. He did not even hold back the genuine interest expressed in his voice albeit robotic.

Enne stood up and walked toward the middle of the crater, Cell followed. "I remember most of it but not the details. The two aliens strangely looked like people, like humans. One had black hair and an outrageous widow's peak." _Even I can't forget that_. "The other one was big and bald. Anyway, they were fighting with a more unusual group of people. I remember two kids, one with long hair and the other, very pale. There was also a bald green guy, a long-haired guy, and a bald, normal guy. Oh wait, let me correct that, two bald guys in fact, one tall, one small." She rubbed her temple, trying hard to recall all the participants in that mess of a battle. Now that she thought of it, if the so-called good guys weren't bald, they had long hair.

Cell tried matching the newly registered information with his existing data. The one with the widow's peak was no doubt Vegeta and his accomplice was Nappa. The kid with the long hair was Son Gohan, son of Goku. The pale one was Chiaotzu. The green guy, no doubt, was Piccolo and the long-haired guy was Yamcha. The two bald guys could be none other than Tien and Krillin. _Hmph, it seems the gang was all there_.

"The battle was intense! They were flying all over the place sending off one powerful blast after another like child's play! It was like a fireworks display gone wrong." She was thirteen years old when it happened so it amazed her to no end. Her grandfather, however, was a calm spectator. "But then the TV went static after I saw the big, bad, bald guy approach the screen so we didn't get to watch all of it. It looks like the good guys won or else we wouldn't be here."

Cell, who trailed behind her, listened intently. _Ah, in my perfect form I can do more than that. With these dragon balls, I will._

Enne saw a small orange ball on the ground. She ran toward it and scooped it up. "Got it!" She held it up in the air for Cell to see.

_"The six-star dragon ball."_ He looked up at it.

"M-hm." She polished it before putting it in the inside pocket of her bag. _Now we have more than half._ She examined the dragon radar. "Would you look at that? The next one is just five hundred miles south of here." She wasn't intimidated by overwhelming distances anymore, considering the two thousand miles they traveled last year. They were going at quite a slow pace with Enne enjoying herself and nature far too often. Cell found her reveries incomprehensible.

After making a mental note of the direction to the next dragon ball, Enne jammed the device in her pants pocket and started walking. Taking a last glance at East City under a twilight sky, she sighed. "How about we just wish for the restoration of East City?"

_"Rebuild East City?"_ Cell asked rather dryly, he wasn't one to take her spontaneous thoughts seriously.

"Yeah, rebuild East City with dragon balls!" _Oh my, that sounded off._ "Nevermind." She crossed her arms and bit her lip.

* * *

**Other Notes:** Obsolete kid's show = Dora the Explorer.

And I decided to insert the We Built This City parody there. I read it from some forum.

We built this city on rock and roll = Chapter 7's title.

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	8. No Matter What

**Author's Notes:** Sorry guys, but I need all these filler, *cough*, side trips for character/relationship building.

So, our two unlikely travelers find themselves in Orange Star City, which was later called Satan City because he "saved the world".

* * *

**Chapter 8: No Matter What**

About three quarters of the path to the dragon ball, Orange Star City came into view. It looked like a highly developed city. There were a few skyscrapers and many modern buildings and structures. The city looked well-organized and as the two approached nearer, they found that there were no checkpoints unlike in North City. However, there were police cars roaming around along traffic.

"Wow, look at this! Now I can finally restock our fridge." Enne adjusted her backpack strap, raring to go and shop for food and drink at the supermarket.

_"__You should grab more bread, and meat."_ Cell remembered the days that they went on milk and fruit alone. He preferred bread and meat which was a good combination of carbohydrates and protein. Those were essential for energy and muscle growth.

"That's more like it," she replied, acknowledging his straightforwardness.

Unlike the citizens of North City, few people threw awkward and confused looks at Cell. Most of those who passed by him didn't glance or flinch at all.

Enne noticed. _They must be used to weird creatures. They do live in quite an open area with mountains just south of here._

Seeing a police car turn around the corner, she waved at it. It stopped by the road near them. The window opened to reveal a good-natured officer with a white beard on the passenger seat. "Hi missy, can I help you?"

"Could you tell me where the supermarket is?"

"You see that big circus tent over there?" The officer pointed at a blue and yellow striped circus tent just two blocks away. "It's in the block at the left."

"Okay, clear. Thank you!" She gave them a smile for added thanks.

"No problem, just doing our job." With that, the window closed and the policemen continued patrolling the city.

"Would you look at that, they even have a circus here. I want to go see." She looked in the direction of the giant circus tent and saw that there were cars parked beside it.

_"__Why?"_ Whenever Enne delayed their journey, Cell would mask his chagrin with a dull tone of voice. However, he would also have to be at his imperfect form before they make a wish otherwise he wouldn't be able to coerce the girl into letting him have the wish for himself. That was what made her side trips tolerable.

"I want to see animals do amazing stuff." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's a break from our usually boring travels. C'mon, let's go see if there's a show today."

Cell reluctantly followed her.

At the entrance of the tent was an arch, the pink banner propped on it read "Musuka Circus." A lanky guy was standing beside the entrance. Enne approached him.

"Hi, is there any show today?" she asked, smiling lightly to make herself look friendly.

The man glanced at the creature behind her. "Sorry miss, no shows." He turned around to enter.

"Wait, but the cars-"

"Those're staff's and officers' miss now go home," he cut her question quite rudely. The man disappeared into the darkly lit tent.

Enne raised her shoulders and clenched her fists, she turned to face Cell. "How rude! Show or no show I'm not coming back." She walked away.

_"__I thought so,"_ Cell mumbled.

They crossed the street and just like the officer said, the supermarket was in the middle of the block just left of the circus tent. The sliding glass doors revealed a clean, white, and well-lighted interior. The decorative tiles reflected the light, as if inviting Enne to splurge.

_Fancy_. She started walking toward the entrance but stopped when Cell spoke.

_"__I'm staying there…"_ He turned to face the narrow alley on the left of the building. _"To stop drawing attention. Don't forget-"_

"Bread and meat, I know I know." And the girl entered the supermarket. There weren't a lot of shoppers since it was noon in a weekday. She noticed some people eating by the stalls but they weren't much.

The first she grabbed were various fruits and vegetables, the pile of blueberries and strawberries being the most because those were her favorites. She pushed the cart to the cold cuts section and picked only a few processed meats such as bacon and kebabs. Most of the meat she was going to buy had to be fresh, it was healthier that way and travelers like them needed to be well-fed.

Meanwhile, Cell stared blankly at the street. All he was thinking about was enduring one more year in this form. For the past year, his benefactor had fed him well. There are times when he noticed that she even gave him a bigger share of the provisions than she gave herself._ I might even spare her, if she cooperated. Hah, what a joke._

As he was laughing to himself, he felt large hands grab his sides and lift him upside-down. _What?_

"Drop him in the cage, Mook. He's as good as ours," said a short, stout, and shady man wearing a suit, fedora, and sunglasses.

He was thrown carelessly into a steel cage, the bars were one inch diameter thick. He grasped them with his front claws like a prisoner.

"Put him in the back of the truck. Try not to be too visible," the stout man commanded. The one who manhandled him, Mook, was equally shady but tall and bulky.

Mook carried his cage until they reached a small cargo truck. The man, this time carefully, laid the cage on the back. The doors were closed and Cell could see nothing but faint rays of light seeping through a few holes.

* * *

After filling the cart with whole wheat loaves of bread, Enne went shopping for bread snacks. _Cornbread? What's that?_ She stared at the assortment of warm bread inside the oven countertop. "Cornbread muffins?" She sniffed. _They smell good, I bet they taste delicious_. "Miss, could you get me twenty of those?"

The baker wrapped the muffins and piled them neatly in a paper bag. "Thank you, please come again."

She threw them in the cart and stopped to think if she had shopped for everything they needed. _Fruits, veggies, meat, bread, milk, water, pretty much something of everything. I think that's enough, time to pay. _

"How about these?"

"That'll make me fat, Erasa."

"They're not for you, silly, I'm talking about Videl!"

When she was heading for the cashier, there were two blond-haired kids, a girl and a boy, browsing the chocolate aisle. The girl was showing the boy a chocolate bar.

"Hm, I don't know. She looks too tough for chocolates," the boy said, rolling his eyes as he said the last word.

"Really Sharpner, you know nothing about girls!" the girl insisted, throwing the chocolate in their shopping basket. "C'mon let's go."

Enne glanced back at them and continued walking to the cashier. She remembered the times when her grandfather went home and brought her chocolate. She liked the sweet taste and it easily became one of her favorite foods but her grandfather reminded her to eat them moderately.

The woman at the cashier was surprised at the amount of food she had in the cart. "Excuse me, would you like me to put all that in a capsule box? It doesn't cost much and it's really handy."

"Yes please." Enne quickly accepted. She didn't expect the convenient offer.

After paying and safely storing the capsule in her pocket, she exited the store and went to look for Cell in the alley.

_That's weird, he said he'll stay here._ Enne knew Cell was not one to wander about without reason. She walked through the alley to the rear parking lot, all she could see were convertibles, sedans, and branded delivery trucks. She ran around to find a trace of him but couldn't find any. Then, she stopped to think. _Did someone pick him up? No, he looks out of place but barely anyone stared at him, not even the policemen. And he said he would stay here to stop drawing attention which meant that he really didn't like walking around. So what the hell?_ She turned her head left and right to scan the parking lot one last time. There wasn't anyone who she could ask so she decided to go back and trace their steps. She asked approachable-looking people who passed by and the only replies she got were apologies and head shakes. Then she asked a man holding a young boy by the hand.

"Excuse me, have you seen a big bug around here, he's really big and he crawls slowly."

The man blinked at her and smiled. "Sounds like something you find in a circus, but sorry, I haven't. Do you work at Musuka's? Is that a new attraction?"

_Oh Kami._ "Oh no, it's just, uh, please don't tell anybody." She played along with him.

"Well, alright. Your secret's safe with me. You know, my kid loves seeing the circus and-"

"Look at the time! I'm so sorry I've got circus business to take care of so, oh thank you so much!" Enne bolted and turned right around the corner facing the circus. She stared at the oversized tent and saw that, once again, the entrance was deserted.

* * *

Cell found himself in a dimly lit room. He looked around and saw that there were a lot of cages like his lined in a row. There were small dinosaurs, some with wings and some without, and animals that looked like tigers. He tried ramming the cage, he was able to scratch it but it didn't even budge. He tried gripping it tightly with his claws, hoping to cut the bars apart, but the attempt also failed. _Is this it? Is this how I'm going to spend the remaining year before I transform into my imperfect form? Trapped in a cage, treated like a lowly animal?_ Thoughts raced in his mind. _No, Enne won't. It's not logical to go waste time and rescue a parasite. After all, if I was her and I didn't need me, I most certainly wouldn't either._

He relaxed his limbs and entered a meditative state.

* * *

She didn't know how, but she was able to sneak in as far as the ring. When there was no show, it seemed that the place used minimal lighting to save costs. She sneaked near the bleachers, the dark color blended well with her clothes.

"That was too easy!" A deep voice echoed in the emptiness of the wide ring.

"I told you, that thing's gonna haul us in a fortune!"

The second voice sounded familiar. Enne hoisted herself on the bleachers and crouched to hide herself from view. Two men, one bulky and one lanky, emerged from a tunnel opposite the entrance. They passed through and exited the tent.

She ran through the tunnel and found a straight corridor. She walked quietly and examined the door labels. Finally, she reached for the knob on the one that read "Animals". _Shit, it's locked._

She had no choice. She knocked hard on the door labeled "Mr. Musuka" and hid in the dark part of the corridor. As she expected, the door opened. A short, stout man appeared and closed the door. She ran to the door and knocked hard on it again. This time, she waited.

"What the f-"

When the door swung open, she quickly grabbed the man's wrists and held his hands crossed behind him.

"Who are you?" The man demanded.

Enne pulled the man's arms in opposite directions, earning a whimper of pain. "Give me the keys for the animal room, you know what I'm talking about," she whispered threateningly at the back of his ear.

"Y-you! They're in my damn pocket!"

She saw the bulge in his slacks' back pocket. It was against herself to grab the keys from there, but she let go of the man's wrists and did it quickly. As soon as she got the keys, Musuka fled out of the room and into the tunnel. She ran as fast as she can to the end of the corridor and into the animal room. She turned on the lights and looked for Cell. She found his cage near the wall.

She tried every key until she was able to open his cage. She rubbed the keys on the bars to wake him from his trance. "Let's get outta here!" She ran outside the room without waiting for him. Cell had no idea what was happening but he followed her lead anyway.

As they ran through the corridor, Enne threw the keys on Musuka's office door. They passed the tunnel into the ring only to see Musuka, Mook, and the lanky entrance guy running toward them.

"Let's split," she said. She ran to the left and Cell ran to the right. The three pursuers were baffled.

"Catch them, dammit!" Musuka bellowed. Enne and Cell have already fled outside the tent when Mook and the lanky guy ran after them. The city people glanced at them while they were being chased.

"The dragon ball's in this direction, so let's just run!" Enne shouted. She ignored the fact that they were being chased and enjoyed the cool late afternoon wind as they dashed through the city. Cell was still at a loss for words.

Musuka appeared outside the tent and saw a police car turning around the corner. He waved them to stop, the window revealed a good-natured officer with a white beard.

"Hey Mr. Musuka, what seems to be the problem?" the officer asked.

"Run after that thief! She stole my bug!" Musuka pointed south where the pair sped off.

"What'd she look like sir?"

"Meddlesome girl with black hair! Hurry!"

The officer remembered the girl who asked him for directions earlier that day. There was no doubt that she was with a big bug-like creature, and there definitely was no doubt that anyone who asked for directions to the supermarket must be a newcomer to this city. _Who would steal a bug for Kami's sake? Unless they could profit from it. Hm._

"Alright sir, we be lookin' into that," the officer told him.

"What do you mean looking? I'm telling you to catch her!" Musuka raised his voice but before he could even finish his sentence, the window closed. The police car sped to the south.

"Don't bother, this man's poached another," the officer told the policeman who was driving.

"He never learns," the other replied.

* * *

They were on a hill, a good distance south of the city. With all the twists and turns they took, their pursuers simply lost sight of them. Enne had her hands on her knees, panting, while Cell waited for her to recover.

"I got him good, didn't I?" she muttered and straightened her back. She looked back at Orange Star City.

After a moment's silence, Cell asked, _"You, why help me?"_

Enne crouched to face him, her stare was intense, and he could almost feel it boring through him. "Why _not_ help you?" She touched the round bulge on his forehead. "We're friends, and friends look out for each other, no matter what." She withdrew her hand, crossed her arms, and continued looking at the city.

_"__Did you get the food?"_ Cell asked.

Enne raised her brows in surprise and fumbled in her pockets. She heaved a sigh of relief and pulled the capsule out. "Everything's here. I got some cornbread, thought you might try it."

He stared at the tired smile on her face.

* * *

**Other Notes:** Sprinkled some Saiyaman Saga characters (Musuka, Erasa, Sharpner) here and there, Mook's an OC. I also added the cornbread thing, even though I prefer Japanese dub Cell. ;)

**Thank you for reading. And If you ever fav or review, thank you so much.**


	9. Break My Fall

**Author's Notes:** Hi Chemistry-Deaf! Before he dies, eng dub Cell shouts "I am perfect!" and it sounds like "I love cornbread!" Haha. But of course, when you watch it with the jap dub, there's no cornbread joke. Lastly, they have three more dragon balls to go.

I don't know about you guys, but I see a _little_ difference in personality between eng and jap dub Cell. Maybe it's just his voice, or me, hehe.

Thanks for reading this, really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Break My Fall**

A few days after the encounter at Orange Star City, the pair found themselves on the winding path of Mount Paozu. The road turned at every mountain and plateau. It wasn't the height of these mountains that was intimidating, but the sheer number. They looked like giant fingers that jutted from the ground. The thin fog gave the place a mysterious atmosphere.

Enne looked up and saw a great blue figure perched on the round peak of a mountain to the south. _I bet that's the one we saw in Bamboo Forest._ She looked at the radar and saw that the dragon ball was just about a mile away. When they neared the mountain the pterodactyl was perched on, Enne stopped walking. Noticing this, Cell turned to her.

"Why do you think it lingers here?" She nodded her head in the direction of the pterodactyl.

_"__What about it?"_

"Do you think it's alone?"

_Hmph, she's become more cautious. "It clearly is. If I were to guess, it's on the lookout for something."_

"I'll take that as a warning. Let's tread lightly."

They strayed a little off the path and stopped at the foot of a relatively high plateau.

"It's up there alright." Enne stared up at it, examining for footholds and estimating how difficult it would be to climb all the way up to the surface. The rough estimate that she could come up with was that it was about sixty meters high.

Before Cell could ask how they were going to go up, Enne said, "It's difficult but possible." She pulled out a taut rope from her bag. "Wait for me here, though I might take long." She tied the rope around her waist.

_"__How are you going to descend?" _he asked the second question he had in line.

"I'll jump and pull off a light ki blast when I'm near ground. Kind of sloppy but it's better than death by fall." Enne started climbing.

Cell stayed on his spot, watching the girl climb foothold after foothold.

* * *

An hour later, he was still watching her. Enne didn't look like she struggled but she wasn't exactly an expert either. _How tedious human life must be without the ability to fly._

Then, they both heard it. Cell turned to see the pterodactyl and Enne gripped a rock tighter as she turned her head to look in its direction. After it cawed, it flew farther south.

_What could that be? Anyway, it looks like I'm almost there._ She looked up again and saw a branch sticking out. She grabbed the rope, threw it around the branch, and pulled. _Okay, that seems good enough._ She let her body release some tension now that she had a safeguard. She looked down to check on Cell only to see that he wasn't there. _Huh?_ She turned her head sideways, searching for him, but he was nowhere in sight. _Was he bored? No, that caw must've made him uneasy._ She suppressed her worries and continued the climb.

* * *

Cell stood at the foot of another mountain, obscuring him from Enne's view. After the pterodactyl cawed, he heard a slight commotion in the southeast. It seemed that there were animals on the move. _If my guess is correct, then that was a warning._ He surveyed the surroundings but there was nothing out of place. He edged closer to the mountain and bent his limbs to camouflage as a rock. His eyes kept looking in every direction, expecting something to arrive.

After a short while, he heard a consistent thud from the west. Whatever that was walking must be big. Cell shifted position to get a clearer view of the west part of the area. He then saw the creature the pterodactyl warned about.

Emerging from the mountainous view was a dinosaur about seven meters tall. It looked like a bulky T. rex but its head had five blunt spikes. Its mouth was half-open, showing a set of intimidating sharp teeth. Natives of Mount Paozu called it the Paozusaurus.

Cell looked in Enne's direction and wasn't able to see the girl. _She reached the top._

* * *

Enne pulled herself up from the edge of the plateau and lay prone on the grass, savoring the surprisingly soft feeling on her skin. She rubbed her palms on it to relieve the mild soreness gained after climbing on the rough edge of the mountain. When she felt comfort make its way back to her body, she stood up, breathed deeply, and examined the plateau for any adversary and the dragon ball. As expected, there was no other creature and the dragon ball was just lying in the middle of the surface.

"Easy", she murmured to herself. She grabbed the dragon ball and observed it. _The two-star dragon ball. Now we have four, one, three, six, and two_. She put it in the pocket with the other dragon balls for safekeeping. It was time to leap and make sure that she landed safely. She gathered her energy to feel if there was enough to break her fall and fortunately, there was more than enough.

Enne walked toward the edge from where she climbed. She looked around, the view from the top of the plateau was stunning, and below, Cell was still nowhere to be found. She sighed as she readied herself for the fall.

* * *

Cell crawled around the mountain near him for a strategic position where he could both clearly see the threat and hide from it. Unfortunately, it was walking near a mountain that hid its imposing figure from Enne's view above. She could be jumping off any minute now and when he looked in her direction, he saw her standing on the edge. Enne, indeed, leapt.

_Impeccable!_ The problem was that if the dinosaur was not distracted, then it will surely hear Enne's ki blast, see her, and chase the prey as a predator does. Their whole objective will be jeopardized. Cell considered every possible option and reasoned that this was the best course of action. He ran toward the great Paozusaurus, stopping in front of it for a split second to make sure that it saw him, and ran southeast, diverting it from the girl. The dinosaur roared and pursued him, its mouth wide open, ready to bite whenever it got close. He pushed his thick body's speed to the limit. Somehow, he had to lose it like they did their pursuers in Orange Star City, but there were no skyscrapers to block its view so he had to make use of mountains instead to handicap the dinosaur's field of vision.

* * *

Enne was not new to falling from high places but feeling the air pass so swiftly by always thrilled her. She was falling face first, her eyes closed and a smile on her lips. Then, she opened her eyes just a few meters above ground, gathered energy to her right palm, and blasted herself away. The blast left a small crater and she rolled over opposite the mountain. She lay motionless for a while then sat up and swept dirt from her face and clothes. Looking back at the crater, she was relieved that the rebound wasn't too bumpy.

She felt her worry return when she was not able to see Cell anywhere. She walked around hoping to find a trace of him but failed to do so. She leaned at the foot of the mountain that she climbed, slid down to sit, and rested her hands on one knee. _He'll come back, he always does._

Soon enough, she saw, unmistakable to her, his silhouette from the south. _What took him?_ She stood up and walked toward him. "Where were you?"

_"__South," _was his curt reply.

"Yeah, but why?"

_"__A trivial matter. Were you able to get the dragon ball?"_

"Yes, and what were you doing south of here?" Enne slightly bit her lower lip. Cell knew this expression, this was her "tell me" face.

_"__Distracting a dinosaur that would have put us both at risk,"_ he answered matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Enne took a moment to remember the view she saw on top of the plateau. "But I didn't see any dinosaur."

_"__A mountain hid it from your view."_ He was in an unfavorable position. He didn't know where the next dragon ball was so he couldn't walk away from the girl so as to escape the unwanted conversation.

"Why didn't you just let things happen and we could've run from it together?"

_"__You're tired, it's not feasible,"_ he, quite strictly, stated.

"Hm." _Logical, as always_._ Anyway… _"I bet you're dying to know the next destination. Well, me too." With that, she pulled out the dragon radar and zoomed out. "It's a thousand five hundred miles southeast of here, long journey ahead."

_"__Approximately two hundred miles southeast of here is the sea, according to your map."_

_That's not…_ Before she could even finish the thought, Enne pulled the map out of her bag and examined it. One thousand and five hundred miles across the sea southeast of Mount Paozu was about three thousand miles west from where they were, across land which really was the only way. _True_.

They could have gone for it after the dragon ball at Wamu's forest, if the fact that they cannot swim hundreds of miles was not overlooked.

* * *

**Other Notes:** I just love getting them chased by dinosaurs, lol.

Man, I hope the coming events don't make you want to flame me. XD

**Thank you very much for reading / reviewing / faving.**


	10. Monster of My Subconscious

**Author's Notes: **Alright, here's the last chapter before things start going downhill for Enne. I asked a friend of mine to read this fanfic but she got confused because she told me she forgot much about Dragon Ball, so I hope the scenery, landscape descriptions, and etc. aren't too vague. There's no way I'm going to describe them like Tolkien, ha ha ha, as if I ever had such supreme skills to begin with.

I see new people who faved/wanted alerts for my story, wow, thank you.

**Review Replies:**

**Zulacent -** Yes, I've read some good and bad Cell fics here. I tried to make his change gradual, and thanks for saying it's realistic. Although I'm not going to venture very deeply into Cell's mind, it would spoil what his feelings/emotions are, so I left that to the later chapters. :)

**Cell loving lady - **I would love Cell being sent to me thank you very much... only if he's not in a bad mood. ;)

**Chemistry-Deaf - **Don't worry, they'll get there, somehow (^_^), but for the moment they're gonna walk walk walk. I want them to do that because it makes the passing of time kind of more believable than by vehicle or whatnot. Goku and friends have it so easy when they look for the dragon balls like it's no big deal, but I planned on making it hard for Enne and Cell because I have to cover two years of travel with them, to make their development and relationship more "realistic". And yeah, you could say the next chapter is the turning point, or last, of this arc.**  
**

**Honeybunches123 - **Aw thanks, it is kinda scary but that's why I posted this here when I almost finished writing it. That way, I feel less pressured and can just write what I want to write.

And to the others who have reviewed, thank you for that, I'm delighted enough just to know that you're reading the story. Hope you're all doing well in life.

Man, am I saying a lot here, but I just want to point out that Cell offering Enne a ride on his back, like in chapter two, is a one time act. He hated every bit of it and wouldn't like doing it again (he's such a prick). And remember, he has to spend/waste the two years and turn imperfect before they get to wish, this I mentioned in chapter eight, just clarifying things.

Okay, that's it, they have two more dragon balls to get. Here goes.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Monster of My Subconscious**

The last time Enne checked the radar, there was also another dragon ball seven hundred miles southwest of Mount Paozu but when she checked the map, the best route going there was to walk to the southernmost part of the desert and swim the last two hundred miles which was also, sadly, not possible. She decided to think about crossing the sea after they had collected all the dragon balls on land. Travel by boat would be very convenient but she had little experience in swimming and none at all in manning a boat. And there was Cell who, judging by his body type, obviously wasn't meant for swimming.

The journey from the Shinkous' cabin to Mount Paozu covered three-fourths of the Earth, but to travel from Mount Paozu to the sixth dragon ball meant to walk across the world. The revelation felt akin to being resigned to fate and Enne blamed herself for it. Days into their journey, her brooding attitude was a change of pace from the relaxed atmosphere they usually carried. Cell knew that someday she would recover so he left her alone whenever she contemplated.

* * *

The noon after they spent the night in their capsule house between Gingertown and the Shinkou cabin, Cell noticed that Enne kept walking northwest.

_"__You're going in the wrong direction,"_ he said, more intrigued than irritated.

The girl sighed. "I know, I just thought you'd figure it out."

_"__What is it?"_ He knew that the time machine was located a few miles north but if it were not that then he had no idea what she was talking about.

"If it's not too much, could we spend the day in my home?"

_"__Your home?"_ He meant to ask why but he blurted out an obvious question instead.

"The cabin I grew up in, I'd like to see how things are."

There was a silent pause as Cell pondered how interesting it would be to see this girl's dwelling. _"As you wish."_

"Thanks." She gave him a soft smile.

* * *

She expected it to be a little dusty from absence of care. From outside, the cabin and the greenery around it looked the same as it always did. There was a little wear and tear on the roof tiles and speckles on the windows, probably due to rain. She unlocked the door and saw that nothing really has changed much since the day she left. She walked to the side table where her grandfather's picture was, kneeled, and prayed.

Cell surveyed the living room. The side table with the picture of Enne's grandfather was beside the television. There was a black leather sofa set, a wooden coffee table, and a big window just above a desk. _"So this is where you live."_ Cell walked across the living room and saw the dining room just beyond the divider. There was a wooden glass door that probably led into the kitchen. _Cozy._

"Yes," Enne answered, opening her eyes from prayer.

_"__With your grandfather?"_

"Glad you remember." She stood up and felt for dust on the leather sofa. It was quite a relief that after all that time, not much has settled. She threw her backpack on it and rolled her shoulders. She pulled Cell's eggshells out of the bag and laid them on the tabletop beside the window. "A souvenir."

Cell stood by the fireplace. _"Let me meditate here."_

Looking at him, Enne knew that she had meditation of her own to do. That could have even been the purpose of why she wanted to spend the whole day in the place she felt most comfortable in. It had almost been two years since she started the search for the dragon balls. _Time flies, I didn't even feel two birthdays go by_. She walked to the dining room and up the stairs to the second floor where the balcony, bathroom, and bedrooms were. She entered her bedroom and looked up at the framed picture on the wall. That was her when she was thirteen, she insisted her grandfather take a picture of her on her first teenage year. She couldn't help but chuckle inside. Some people wanted to slap their past selves but she wanted to give hers a pat on the back.

She lay on the bed, crossed her arms over her tummy, and closed her eyes.

_Nearly a two year journey for one wish._ Well, it took even longer because they had to travel the world. Such an important fact overlooked left a bad taste in her mouth. But at last, it was just a thousand more miles south. And about that dragon ball over the sea, she could just build a raft and sail northwest from Yahhoy City, the world was round anyway. _Oblate spheroid, more accurate._

She thought about her dreams, of how she wanted to have a proper education and be well-read. She has read a lot of books in her eighteen years of life but who wouldn't want a proper education where you go to school, study for exams, get grades, meet people, and possibly have friends? What if she just wished for money, then she could spend every bit on her ambitions, charity, research, and the like.

She remembered when she was sixteen, so excited and eager about the adventure. She thought about her original wish and weighed it against wishing for money. Was it shallow to wish for money that would fund your education so that you could fulfill your dreams? But wait, was this journey hers alone? Was the wish hers alone? She had a friend that was in it for something but whatever that something was, she had no idea. Spending all the time with Cell every day of her life, she learned that he wasn't just secretive. No, this creature was intelligent and who knows what, or who, he really is. From what she observed, he's quiet, sometimes spiteful, sometimes cold, and other times she really couldn't figure him out. What if she tested him? What if she was unconsciously being tested by him? _Two can play at that game._

What's more, she sensed some sort of unknown strength emanating from him these past few days. It's as if, she dared to admit, something was growing inside of him. Is he naturally getting stronger?_ Maybe he's just aging. He said he was twenty-nine so he's probably thirty by now, whenever his birthday is._

Not that she regarded him with utmost distrust, let alone thought ill of him. She was just being cautious because it bothered her that after all the time she had to understand him, he was still an enigma. She did know his intellectual capabilities, calculative and logical and all, but she didn't know his personality aside from being bland, sardonic, and at some occasions, downright unforgiving.

How far she had gone, even she surprised herself, in being skeptical of the only being outside family that she became close to. Then again, this friendship may not even exist at all.

Her thoughts drifted between the wish and Cell, and the compromise it entailed.

* * *

_She found herself hiding under her bedroom table. Apparently, she was cowering._

_She heard unfamiliar footsteps near the door and someone screaming in agony. Knowing that it was her grandfather, she uncontrollably quivered with fear._

_No. No. No more, please._

_Whatever torture that was, it lasted quite a while. Then the yelling stopped. The footsteps sounded again, the killer was walking. After pleading in her mind, she stared at the door, waiting for the killer to come and torment her. Oh what terror she felt._

_The doorknob clicked and everything went black._

* * *

Enne opened her eyes and looked around, she was still lying on the bed.

_Kami on high, what the hell was that?_ She sat up and stared at the floor, trying hard to recall everything in the nightmare. It was so vivid that even the fear that coursed through her felt fresh. It was kind of weird but she was disappointed by not seeing the killer. Anyway, it was just an illusion created by her mind. It can never change the fact that her grandfather died a peaceful death.

She combed her hair and ambled off to the living room.

When she arrived, Cell was still in a meditative state.

"You're not done yet?" This was another mystery to her. How was he able to meditate for so long? What was he thinking if he wasn't just clearing his mind?

_"__No,"_ he replied, no movement whatsoever.

"Hm, okay."

She looked out of the window and saw a starry night sky. It would take another while before she could sleep, especially after that nightmare, so she decided to take a relaxing shower instead. After taking a quick glance at grandpa Shinkou's picture, she climbed back up the stairs.

* * *

_"__Why do you do that?"_ Cell asked Enne who was kneeling again in front of the picture. Rays of gold light passed through the window, giving the room a solemn ambience.

"What?" She turned her head to face him.

_"__Kneel there."_ He knew that the aged man in the picture was her grandfather but he didn't know why she had to kneel, sometimes to simply close her eyes or stare, in front of it. He did not understand why she needed to kneel in front of a dead man's picture. Sure the man was her grandfather but, to him, it looked more like some form of worship.

"I'm talking to him, well, not literally. I'm telling him about the journey, the dragon balls, everything."

_"__But he's dead." _Cell was interested in knowing what good it did to talk to departed ones.

_How sensitive._ Enne sighed. "Just because someone's dead doesn't mean they're not with you anymore, especially if you had a special connection. That's good enough for me. So, are you ready?" She stood up and checked her bag. The most important things, namely the dragon balls, the radar, and the map, were all in place.

_"__As you are."_

"Alright, let's go."

She stepped out and felt the cool moist air around her. The leaves were still wet with dew, reminiscent of the days when she rolled on the grass only to be lectured by her grandfather for getting muddy. It made her nostalgic. She indulged the feeling for a moment but, quite forcefully, dismissed it.

* * *

**Other Notes:** Okay, I'm gonna admit something. The nightmare was really my nightmare when I was a kid. I dreamt (if only nightmared was a word) that Imperfect Cell was eating my parents... I just needed an outlet for that and it seemed to fit nicely in this chapter.

**Thank you very much for reading / reviewing / faving.**


	11. How Perfect You Can Be

**Author's Notes: **This chapter is fast, as in fast like lightning, hahaha. After all, it is the one where Cell turns into imperfect form.

Remember, it's now year 767 so Dr. Gero and Android 20 showed up.

**Review Replies:**

**TheLadyIntegra** - I'm imaginative and I like to stick to canon so yeah I've done some research too, hahaha. The "rebuild East City wish" was just a passing idea that Enne wanted to mention, although she, herself, didn't take it seriously. I try not to make her too good. And WOW, Vegeta was your childhood fave too? He was my fave when I was a kid, mainly because he was the one who wore blue, and when he flies he has that blue aura (blue's my fave color). Once again, thank you for your kind words, I'm amazed at how you write such long reviews!

**Chemistry-Deaf** - yep, Cell's still a critter, heheh. But not anymore after this chapter.

**Drexal15** - yeah, I make the travel time between every dragon ball a bit vague... And about Enne's power level, hm, haven't really paid attention to that. Since she can pull of mini ki blasts, I'd say somewhere around a hundred, she's not that strong. Lastly, I mentioned that Enne gives Cell a big share of their food, she's been taking good care of him, and so he's properly nourished. He'll hatch in this chapter.

(This ain't important, but I like babbling :D. I'm playing StarCraft II, Zerg part, and I find it amusing because Cell could pass as a zerg, lol. He's a bug-like biomech who absorbed other androids and evolved into perfection. The Zerg are also biomechanical insectoid creatures that absorb the essence of other beings and mutate, heck, their main goal is genetic perfection! And coincidentally, they're my favorite race in the StarCraft world. Maybe it's because I'm interested in creatures with an unknown/creepy physiology, although I hate insects and cockroaches are my greatest fear, how ironic.)

And finally, if this chapter raises questions/complaints in your head, please read the notes at the end, I think they'd help.

Thanks for reviewing this, and bearing with me. :)

* * *

**Chapter 11: How Perfect You Can Be**

_Two years have passed since Enne and Cell's first encounter_

_Shiny, round, and smooth like glass. You would think it's fragile but it definitely isn't. _Enne held the five-star dragon ball under a morning sun. It was found in the middle of a clearing surrounded by rocks in Southwest Forest. After an intent examination, she stored it in her bag together with the others.

_What an ominous place._ She studied the area around her. There was nothing but rocks and uneven patches of grass, quite understandable because the desert was just southwest of it.

_"__Enne,"_ Cell called to her. _"Leave me here for a while, I need to rest for half an hour."_ He settled on where he was standing.

"Why?" she asked, knowing that he wasn't tired.

_"__I have to ready myself."_

"For what?" The girl looked at him, confused.

_"__My transformation."_

Enne was shocked, more in awe rather than horror. In thirty minutes, Cell was going to transform. What he'd look like, she didn't know, but as long as she knows he's still Cell then she was convinced that there was no reason to fear. She realized that this was why she felt a weird energy oozing from of him.

"No, I'm staying." She sat on a nearby rock, looked at the creature with fascination, and imagined what he would evolve into. She had typical guesses, he could grow a pair of wings and excess legs like a butterfly or just grow in size. _I wonder what went in his creator's mind._

* * *

Meanwhile, two androids appeared near South City.

* * *

Cell's body began to split. Enne stared and saw that something lean and tall was emerging from it. The new Cell was covered in some purple fluid that flowed smoothly down his skin, shell, or whatever covered him. The tall figure floated above the shed skin and glowed. The last drops of fluid fell on the ground, revealing his whole appearance.

There were some features of the old Cell that he retained. The two wide horns on his forehead now looked like some sort of helmet. He was still mostly green, although speckled, except for a few parts. The back of his head was orange and so was his beak. He still had those pink snake-like eyes that looked malevolent, if you didn't consider him as a friend.

The most that changed about him was his body. He looked humanoid. He had a neck, chest, two arms, and two legs with three toes on each. He was now bipedal, capable of walking upright. But the most peculiar part was his tail, the point looked like a flesh syringe with a needle.

Cell floated over to Enne, not touching the ground. "Amazing, aren't I?" he drawled, his voice has become more audible, although a bit raspy.

Enne closed her gaping mouth and looked up at him. If she didn't know who he was, she would have been terrified. _My, he's like seven feet tall and apparently, he can fly_. "Um, yeah. Uh, Cell?"

"Yes?"

"Is it really you?" She eyed him up and down.

"Who else?"

After being assured, Enne loosened herself up and took a last look at the skin Cell left behind. She recalled the last two years she spent with it and how hard it was for him to move and climb on rough terrain. And now, look, he can easily float around and walk on two legs.

"Tell me, where is the last dragon ball?" Cell lowered himself, planting his feet on ground.

"It's one thousand five hundred miles southwest of here, probably on an island." Her face lightened. The worries of building a raft or borrowing a boat and anything concerning sea travel disappeared now that Cell can fly. She was thinking of flying there now and he, too, seemed eager.

"No time to lose." He grabbed the girl by the waist and flew southwest, moderating his speed to keep her comfortable. _This is it, easy perfection. If she becomes a nuisance then I will just absorb her. The least I can do is give her one last pleasurable flight. _He chuckled in his thoughts.

* * *

"Over there!" Enne pointed at a rocky island with uneven patches of grass and soil, similar to Southwest Forest. There was a clearing at the foot of a cliff where a lone tree stood. _The dragon ball must be on that tree!_

Cell descended slowly until they touched ground. He let go of the girl. "Where is it?"

"On that tree."

Cell started walking toward it.

"Wait!" It was time to resolve her dilemma. There was only one wish but there were two of them.

Cell looked at her over his shoulder.

Enne had a gentle expression on her face. "Could you at least tell me what you're going to wish for?"

Cell felt his insides lurch and his body tense. A fatal question demanded an equally fatal answer. His mind filtered all possible answers with as much logic as it could utilize.

"The effortless acquisition of my perfect form, that's all." _I want to kill you right now, you know._

"Perfect form?" She tilted her head.

"It's what I was created to be. If you think I'm amazing now, wait 'til you see it. I could do far more unimaginable things," he said with a smug tone.

"Will you still be Cell afterwards?" She scrunched her eyebrows in worry.

"Dear Enne, I will never be anyone else but the Cell you know." A smirk formed on his lips.

Her face relaxed. She has been thinking about the problem ever since the visit to her cabin and now, she finally decided. "Cell, go and get it, and make your wish."

_What? How convenient!_ Now that his secret was out, he had to know hers. "What about you, what's your wish?"

"Sorry but, I'd rather not. I'll tell you someday." She gave him an uneasy grin.

"Fine." He continued walking. "You won't be disappointed."

He stopped beside the tree and punched with force enough to just shake it. Cell caught the dragon ball before it could drop to the ground. He flew toward Enne and saw that the six dragon balls were already in place. He dropped the last one, the seven-star dragon ball, near the others. _Perfect._

The dragon balls glowed and faded, and glowed and faded. All of a sudden, the sky grew dark. They were unsure if this was the proper time to make the wish.

"I wish for the power to evolve into my perfect form, without any prerequisite whatsoever," Cell stated, putting emphasis on the last clause.

They paused for a short moment. The sky was still dark and Cell's wish was not in effect.

"Oh, there must be some riddle or something like open sesame." She rubbed her right temple and tried remembering the fairy tale, the dragon radar, and her grandfather. Then a thought struck her. "Shenron!"

The small clearing was enveloped in a bright burst of light. Enne shielded her eyes with her forearms and squinted. She couldn't believe what she was seeing but she knew it was for real. _They were called dragon balls, after all._

A dragon of impressive size and length materialized before them. The dark sky and the blinding light made a contrast that must have drawn thousands of eyes in their direction.

_"__I have come to grant you one wish, tell me what it is so that I may make it come true."_

"I wish for the power to evolve into my perfect form, without any prerequisite whatsoever." Again, Cell emphasized the last clause.

_"__Your wish will be granted."_ The grand dragon's red eyes glowed and so did Cell. The light around him was so bright that Enne had to step away and shield her eyes.

_"__It has been done. Farewell." _The dragon disappeared in yet another bright burst of light. Enne squinted up and saw that the light was divided into seven beams that scattered in different directions. _There go the dragon balls._

The darkness subsided and the sky returned to its normal state. Enne looked in Cell's direction and saw that he was still covered in light. Sensing an unfathomable energy, she ran and took cover behind a small crack in the cliff. She leaned against the cliff wall and closed her eyes.

* * *

**Other Notes: **Southwest Forest is the area close to where Babidi's spaceship landed. :D

The foreshadowing was actually... a red herring (troll face)! Kinda disappointing, isn't it? Imperfect Cell just passed by, and I think totally removing Semi-Perfect Cell shows how much I love that form of his. Sarcasm intended.

It would have been fun to prolong Imperfect Cell but his goal is perfection via the dragon balls so I thought it was reasonable that he'd go get them asap... and if that wasn't his course of action, I don't have any idea what else I could do with him... If you do, you can tell me if you want to! ;)

One thing though, **TheLadyIntegra** - yeah, Cell could also lose his cool with Enne, she could thwart him, and she could shake off his threats and go find the last dragon ball herself while he goes around killing people... and bla bla... Maybe that could make for a What If story.

Oh and, I know I've got some explaining to do.

1. The way Enne gave the wish up so easily... That's part of her character, she just believes the best of people especially the ones she's close to, and she's curious to see what Cell would be like. But the real reason will be in the later, much later, chapters. I haven't even revealed her wish yet! Care to guess?

2. And we all know summoning Shenron causes the sky to darken and all that, but let's just say that the guys were in the cave entrance of Gero's lab and preoccupied with eavesdropping on Gero and the Androids so they didn't notice. Chi-chi and Yamcha were busy tending to sick Goku. Master Roshi and friends were jerking off to the workout channel too much. For some reason, they just didn't notice.

**Thank you very much for reading / reviewing / faving.**


	12. Indomitable

**Author's Notes: **Ta-da! Perfect Cell! The moment we've all been waiting for.

**Review Replies:**

**Chemistry-Deaf** - Thanks for pointing these out. About Cell's power, I made sure that he wished "for the _power_ to evolve into blabla" and unlike the genie in the lamp, I read somewhere that Shenron makes the best of a wish, so the good ol' dragon didn't just wish Cell into perfect form but also gave him the optimal power he could have in that form (if wishing for a power boost isn't allowed in the DBZ canon then let's twist the rules in this fic hahaha). And also I think that includes the programming, I take from the japanese subs and unlike in the english dub, he didn't explain why he came back in (super) perfect form even after puking out 18. In my opinion, I think that was a BIG plothole in the jap version that the eng tried to explain. About Enne's wish, I'd love to hear from you after I reveal it in a later chapter :)) Thank you so much for reading through.

**Cell loving lady** - I didn't give much focus on the androids, but you'll know their fate in the later chapters.

Kinda funny, I'm glad that you guys aren't big fans of Semi-Perfect Cell too.

Thanks for the support, here it is, chapter twelve.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Indomitable**

The light from the clearing faded. Enne opened her eyes and braced herself for whatever that was standing in the clearing. After a deep breath, she walked slowly out of the crack. She saw the back of a tall green figure in the distance and, surprisingly, it wasn't emitting a significant amount of energy. It was just standing there, motionless. Warily, she walked toward it.

Stopping just a short distance from it, she bit her lower lip, obviously showing uncertainty. "Cell?" She observed him. The two green wings on his back now turned black and sleek like polished obsidian. His tail was reduced to nothing but the flesh part, it kind of relieved her.

Cell felt pleased by his newfound power but kept it suppressed as an act of caution, keeping the element of surprise on his side. He was eager to test his abilities and, possibly, his limits so he planned to engage in battle with the Z fighters soon.

He turned to face Enne and, seeing the anxiety on her face, smirked.

She saw that his head, chest, and shoulders also turned into that obsidian-like plating. He was still green, but smoother. She looked him in the eyes and fought back the urge to gasp as she saw his face looking more human than ever. The snake-like eyes were gone and replaced by more normal ones except for the magenta irises. It looked like he had some sort of golden chin guard. There were purple markings on each side of his pale face and _my, what a perfect nose._

"How did you know about Shenron?" he asked. His voice sounded neither robotic nor raspy, but deep and strong.

Enne snapped out of her reverie and answered, "Grandfather left a note saying his name." She slightly regained composure.

_This grandfather of hers was a perceptive man_. Cell walked toward her, his pointed yellow feet making an awkward squeaking sound with every step, and said, "You seem tired", as he grabbed her waist. They slowly rose up into the air.

She hugged his waist for support and said, "I like the look." It made him chuckle.

"Well, I'm flattered." He flew southeast, gradually increasing speed.

"So this is it, your perfect form?" She found it a relief that he looked less creepy.

"Indeed it is."

"Where are we going?" She looked below and saw nothing but the sea.

"Your home." Cell had to admit that sparing her life before all was finished was a wise decision, otherwise, he would not have been able to call the dragon.

"Thanks." She bowed her head and closed her eyes. She felt secure in his arms. He now possessed strength unfamiliar to her but she did not worry as long as he was Cell, the proud and polite Cell who was always surrounded with an air of mystery.

* * *

It must have been noon. He landed on the balcony and noticed that the girl was asleep. Then he scooped her legs, carrying her with both arms. He found his way to her bedroom, looked around, and saw a big glass window covered with blue curtains. _That looks like the perfect place to make an exit._ He laid her down on the bed. _What a big bed for a small girl_. Before he could withdraw his arms, she grabbed him by the wrist.

"Wait." Enne opened her eyes and sat up, still holding his wrist. Apparently, she feigned sleep. "You haven't told me what," _or who_, "you really are."

Cell narrowed his eyes. "I am an android created by a scientist."

"For what end?" She stared back with imploring eyes.

"Are you asking for my purpose?" He smirked, intrigued by how inquisitive she was. "Sad to say, that is something that I can't tell you right now."

Enne gently pulled his hand. "Please, sit and we'll talk."

Cell couldn't stop himself from accepting her offer, it sounded like a dying girl's last request. He sat on the edge of the bed facing the window and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I've been in the dark for too long," she muttered, more to herself than him. "Please, enlighten me."

"Very well. My creator crafted me from the cells of various expert fighters. For what purpose, again, I cannot tell you."

_His creator must've had a really complicated thought process._ "If you were created to fight, would you?"

"I likely will." He could've punched himself for telling the truth.

"So that's your purpose and you need to fulfill it?"

"Not really." The truth was that he was made to kill Goku, but now, even that seemed insignificant. "But it's my only existing function!" He tightened the grip on his bicep. He didn't even understand why the hell he was being so open to her.

"Cell." She placed her hand on his, noticing the tension. "I trust you."

"Look, Enne." He loosened up and smirked at her. "It's been a wonderful experience, but I'll be gone in a few weeks. You had better rest." He stood up and opened the window. "And don't you dare look for me. Farewell."

"Will you come back?" She eyed him with concern.

"What's that you used to say? Even if I'm not there I'm still with you." And there he went, flying off into the distance.

"But, that was about dead people." She laid her head on the pillows, unsure whether to laugh at his little mistake or sulk about it. This was a train wreck of a day. One moment her only friend transforms into this creepy green creature. Then a larger-than-life dragon appears and grants his wish. The next moment he looks uncannily human, carries her to bed, and flies off. Thinking about all of it made her head hurt. Finally, she felt a sense of loss creep into her as she was overcome by sleep.

* * *

He hovered over the cabin, gazing down at it. He could blast it away right now for all he cared but he knew he wouldn't, he won't, he can't. At first it irritated him but then, he gave up. It was a part of him that he couldn't comprehend and the last thing he wanted to do was to waste time thinking about it.

He felt a surge of energy in the northeast and rushed toward it with a smirk on his face.

* * *

**Other Notes: **You must be thinking, "WHAT? He just became perfect and he just leaves her and she just lets him? No no and NO!" but yes, that is what happened. Cell is excited to see his power in action and he wanted to leave her quickly anyway... for reasons. There is a reason for everything.

And that "What's that you used to say? Even if I'm not there I'm still with you" statement, trust me, he isn't being all mushy and sweet. He's kinda mocking her moral beliefs.

**Thank you very much for reading / reviewing / faving.**


	13. Your Chaos Is Not Mine

**Author's Notes: **While Cell and Enne were doing all that, the story progressed as it did in canon. Androids 16, 17, and 18 came to life and are fighting against our favorite Z fighters. This chapter enters on episode 135 of DBZ (not Kai), and ends the same way as episode 165 (except Enne's part of course!).

Thank you so much for being such diligent followers. :)

* * *

**Chapter 13: Your Chaos Is Not Mine**

Cell saw it from a distance. Vegeta had just released a powerful ki blast at whoever his opponent was. Cell looked at the surrounding area and recognized the familiar sight. _Hm, they're having fun in the Northern Mountains. _He continued rushing toward the fighters.

The Z fighters and androids 16 and 17 were standing on the mountain road opposite the large rock formation Vegeta and 18 were fighting on. Piccolo felt an incredible ki closing in from southwest. He couldn't believe what he was feeling. _Goku? No, it can't be! Wait, Vegeta? That's impossible! There can't be two Vegetas!_

"Hey guys, are you feelin' that?" Krillin was trembling, unable to comprehend the intensity and source of such energy.

"Is it Goku?" Tien asked, doubtful of his own question.

Trunks turned his head left and right, searching for who or what it was. _Whoever it is, I hope he's on our side. _

Vegeta descended to continue his attack on 18. He smirked, confident that he had the upper hand. "What's the matter, you look a bit ruffled."

"Yes, well, looks aren't everything. You fight quite well for being such a little man. It's impressive even if you are a Saiyan." 18 slipped off her denim vest.

"I know. There are very few willing to train as intensely as I did to achieve this kind of power."

"How sad, to work so hard for so little," she taunted.

"Sad for you!" And Vegeta charged at her with a kick that she cleanly blocked. He was really going at it, sending her a flurry of kicks and punches. Unfortunately for Vegeta, 18 was able to block his attacks with ease.

Finally, Cell arrived. He stopped in midair, just above Vegeta and 18. He aimed his palm and blasted at them with power enough to get their attention. Vegeta and 18 saw it soon enough to flee in opposite directions, able to dodge the unknown attack.

Everyone's eyes were on Cell. He examined all his would-be opponents and was able to match their appearances with data he possessed, except for the one standing far from the group. _Who's this? He bears the Red Ribbon insignia. He must be an older, inferior model._

"Hey, who's the newcomer?" 17 asked, even though he expected no one to know the answer.

"We have no idea," Krillin answered, appalled by the monster.

"I sense Goku's, Vegeta's, Frieza's, and a lot of others' ki from him, how is that possible?" Trunks, too, was baffled. _The more I progress in this timeline, the more unexpected things become! Darn!_

_There's no use thinking about it_. "Not one of us knows so we have to ask that thing itself," Piccolo stated.

Android 16 analyzed Cell's potential power level and was surprised by the result. He flew toward the others and warned them, "He is too powerful. We do not stand a chance against him."

Android 17 looked at 16 with disbelief. "Nonsense 16, we're more powerful than anyone here."

"Not this one," 16 replied.

"Do you have any idea who you're interrupting?" Vegeta shouted from all the smoke and dust. He flew in front of Cell, hovering just a distance away. _Kakarot's energy! What is this hideous thing?_ "Who are you?"

Cell smirked at him. _So this is a Super Saiyan. _"My name is Cell, and I am an android."

Android 18, standing on the rocks below, heard him. _What's that? Dr. Gero made another one?_

"Just another toaster? Hmph! I advise you to stay out of this fight, or else." Vegeta gritted his teeth at the last statement, giving Cell his most threatening glare.

"Then come at me." Cell waved his finger back and forth, urging Vegeta to fight him head on. He knew the Saiyan prince had a short fuse, so he took advantage of it.

"You'll regret this, android!" Vegeta rushed toward him.

Little did they know that the difference in power levels between their current state and Cell's perfect form was overwhelmingly large. They were in for a rough defeat.

* * *

"Is that all you can do?" _How laughably pathetic_. "I expected more of a challenge."

The androids, Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien, and Krillin were all knocked out. They now lay unconscious, scattered all over the rock. Trunks reverted to his normal form, knowing that he had no chance of defeating Cell even with his Super Saiyan strength. He bowed his head in disappointment.

"You can finish me if you want. I failed."

"Gladly." Cell raised his hand, aiming at Trunks. "But first, tell me where Son Goku is, why isn't he here?"

"Goku's sick! But once he recovers, he'll beat the crap out of you! Of that I'm sure!" Trunks held a clenched fist to Cell, showing his conviction.

"That's what I want to hear." Pleased by the answer, Cell lowered his hand. "I will hold a martial arts tournament."

"What do you mean?" Trunks couldn't believe what Cell was saying, the whole idea was completely unexpected. For a second there, he thought he was really going to die.

Cell laughed, taking pleasure in the young man's cluelessness. "You don't get it, do you? I'll give you ten days to strengthen your pitiful selves. Make sure that my wait is worth it."

"But, what are you talking about?"

"You probably don't know but there's an event you call the martial arts tournament where the best fighters from all over gather. I'm going to hold one. The tournament mechanics are simple, I will be the only opponent. If I win, the sequence of one-on-one fights will continue until the final challenger. This means that the more fighters you bring, the better your advantage will be."

Trunks looked at him incredulously.

"I'll let you in on the details soon, so keep an eye on your television."

"What?"

"Won't you lighten up? I just want to have a little fun." Cell couldn't help but smirk. _You boring types are so easily troubled by the slightest aberration_. He was about to take his leave to look for a suitable fighting ground. _That vast wasteland of plateaus southwest of here looks like the perfect place_. "Well then, you'd better prepare a lot of those restorative Senzu beans!"

"Wait! Tell me, what is the real purpose of this tournament? What are you really going to do? Cell, I know what you androids are like. I'm sure this is some sort of a trick, just a trap to get us all in one place, right?"

"Fool. The purpose of the tournament is to test the true strength of my perfect form, to further draw out my strength. My imperative, to kill Son Goku, has lost its significance. I would much rather enjoy myself and see the look of terror on your faces."

Trunks couldn't hold back his fearful expression. Cell's last statement effortlessly sent a chill down his spine.

Cell laughed maniacally, indulging in the superiority. "Farewell."

And he flew away, leaving Trunks speechless.

* * *

Enne woke up and stared at the ceiling, even sleep wasn't able to calm her emotions. She regretted sleeping instead of gazing out the window and following Cell with her eyes until he disappeared wherever he was going. If she did, then she would at least have an idea where he was heading, however, he strictly told her not to look for him. The open window and her trusty green backpack on the nightstand cleared away any doubt about the surreal events that day. She hated to face the reality that her so-called best friend left her with so many unanswered questions.

She was hungry but she couldn't stop thinking. She laid her head on the pillows and closed her eyes, deep in thought. _Made from the cells of various expert fighters. Various expert fighters._ She recalled him telling her that fighting was not really his purpose but it was his only existing function. _Was Cell going to fight? With whom? Various expert fighters?_ She tapped her finger on the bed in irritation. _Who the hell could those expert fighters be?_ Furthermore, Cell was actually thirty years of age, so finding out who those were seemed to be a very daunting task.

Her hunger became less tolerable so she got up and closed the window. Nothing but darkness occupied the night sky, thick clouds probably hiding the moon and the stars. She heaved a sigh and sat on the edge of the bed where Cell sat. She felt that something really bad was going to happen, but whatever she thought her friend was about to do, she was not going to brood about it. She knew from the very start that he was an unusual one.

Tired of thinking, she walked out of the bedroom and climbed down the stairs into the dining room. She turned on the television in the living room, this she did out of habit. Her grandfather told her that it would make the cabin feel less dreary. She went to the kitchen to get herself something to eat.

* * *

**Other Notes:** Vegeta's and 18's lines (while they were fighting) were copied verbatim from episode 135. Some of Trunks' (after all the fights) was copied from episode 165. That's copyrighted by Funimation, and so I have no right to say that those're mine. All the credit goes to them. Although I altered all of Cell's lines.

I tried to tie it with canon because I like keeping the other characters as unchanged as possible... Cell could also have killed the androids but I kept them alive (since 16 has a big role in the Cell Games and 17 and 18 were alive after the Cell Games), but of course, we can tell that Cell won't be able to spit out 18 later.

So, did the knot end up nicely? Hahaha.

**As in all my chapters, I'd like to thank you for reading and the reviews, favs, etc.**


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